Making money out of online identities with SimpDAOs
In a recent episode of the Bloomberg Crypto podcast, managing editor Stacy Marie Ishmael and her guests, Bloomberg writer Emily Nicolle and Ph.D. student Florence Smith Nicholls, discussed online identities and the advent of SimpDAOs as a means of monetizing them. Since January 2022, there have been more and more DAOs. They can be created by the influencer themselves to monetize their online persona, whether it be platonically or sexually, or they can be created by a third party without the influencer’s consent. The phrase is derived from the slang term “simping,” which is used to describe someone who has a great deal of compassion for another person. The “simps,” or members, of SimpDAOs are mostly guys who are eager to show their adoration for a female influencer.
One of the first and best-known SimpDAOs, IreneDAO, is an excellent example of a SimpDAO that was launched with an influencer’s blessing. Yuqing The IreneDAO was established by influencer Irene Zhao, 28. Zhao created a number of stickers for her fans to use in their Telegram group, and one of her admirers suggested she coin them as NFTs. After she gave the stickers the go-ahead, her fan base tokenized them to create a 1,106-piece NFT line, which was completely sold out in a matter of minutes. Both Logan Paul, a well-known YouTuber, and Mike Novogratz, the CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners, bought her NFTs.
SimpDAOs don’t seem to be an issue at this time. When the DAO’s owner is not the influencer themself, the notion becomes complicated. Such SimpDAOs have unfortunately been on the rise as well. These illegitimate SimpDAOs are frequently launched under the guise of influencers, like in the case of PokiDAO, a SimpDAO created for Twitch star Pokimane. SimpDAOs do exist for individuals with internationally recognized names, such as Elon Musk, Dua Lipa, or Zendaya. The majority of these SimpDAO owners also claim that what they’re doing is acceptable. They frequently adhere to a basic fan club concept. For instance, the Twitter banner of Dua Lipa’s SimpDAO reads, “For The Simps, By The Simps.”
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