CryptoSlate recently had the opportunity to chat with Ran Neuner, Founder of the fast-growing live streaming blockchain channel Crypto Banter.
Before creating CryptoBanter, he founded and built the biggest marketing and sales agency in Africa, The Creative Counsel, which he sold to the French media giant Publicis for over $150m when he discovered crypto. Then he went on to create and host Crypto Trader, the world’s first and only televised Crypto show on CNBC.
What is your professional background and how / when did you get into crypto?
I am a serial entrepreneur. I founded and built the biggest marketing and sales agency in Africa, The Creative Counsel and sold it to the French media giant Publicis for over $150m. I sold the business because I discovered Crypto and like everyone, once I went down the rabbit hole, I couldn’t focus on anything else. I bought my first Bitcoin in 2015!
In 2017, frustrated by the lack of information and coverage in the space, I created and hosted the world’s first and only televised Crypto show on CNBC. The show was a huge success and we were the most-watched show in the space!
What is Crypto Banter and how does it differ from other crypto communities?
Crypto Banter is a live streaming media channel that is designed to bring 24/7, credible information to the Crypto community. We realized that the need for live, credible streaming information wasn’t being met. If investors do want live streaming information they need to be on Crypto Twitter and telegram and unfortunately, those mediums have too much noise.
Our mission is to migrate the Banter from telegram and Twitter to live streaming, a curated, moderated medium that is credible.
And to that point, credibility, honesty and integrity are the core pillars of everything that we do and hence we have taken a hard-line approach of NEVER accepting any payments in cash or tokens for project exposure or reviews. I believe this is a MASSIVE differentiator in the space.
We will never sacrifice our integrity and credibility. It remains a non-negotiable component of this business to NEVER accept any payment or free tokens for project reviews. Even though it is the norm on Youtube channels we never want our community to have to question whether we are being paid to promote tokens. We hold ourselves to an extremely high standard and expect the same of any guest we invite on the show. We insist on publishing our research and our calls on the website to ensure we remain accountable.
How have you managed to grow such a strong community with Crypto Banter in such a short amount of time?
I have been in the space for many years and created and hosted the worlds’ first and only televised show on CNBC. Through this platform, I have built a huge following that is now watching Crypto Banter.
I also think we are filling a huge gap in the market – the gap for credible live streaming information backed by fundamentals. We are also the only channel that is building a channel with multiple big names hosting shows.
We are inundated with fan mail and compliments and are confident we are filling the gap.
What responsibilities do you have as an influencer to retail investors?
The average investor in this space is unfortunately relatively new and inexperienced. Many of them make investment decisions on the back of sentiment and influencer comments. Having been in the limelight in 2017 I am well aware of the responsibility that we carry and that investors make decisions based on our comments.
I have therefore taken a very stringent approach that includes no payment for exposure, no free tokens from any project, making calls that are backed by research, posting my research on a public site and posting my calls and all other guests calls on the same site to ensure we are accountable. I am also transparent in my holdings!
With your previous success on CNBC Africa Crypto Trader, how does this market feel different to the previous bull run in 2017?
In 2017, we were really early and we were investing in ideas and dreams. 2021 is different:
- Crypto is much more accepted as an asset class and Bitcoin is now widely accepted as a store of value. I mean the biggest companies in the world are putting it on their balance sheets.
- We have blockchains that work and that are attracting billions of dollars in locked value and investments.
- We have more regulatory clarity and fewer scams and scammers in the space!
- We have real adoption!
As a content creator, what drives you to create compelling crypto content each day?
My content is a reflection of my journey in the space and every day I share with my community what I learn. As I get feedback from the community and realize how they are learning, growing and making better decisions, that fuels my tanks!
What does the future hold for Crypto Banter?
We are so excited about the roadmap. In the next 4 months, we are building 8 hours of daily programming. We are busy launching a school for crypto, a real school with classes etc. We will also be beefing up our website to become a research resource that investors can call on. We have a huge plan!
Do you have any blockchain and / or crypto predictions for 2021 and beyond?
We are in a period of disruption. The law of disruption states that if a new product is 10x better than an incumbent, the disruptor may succeed. Many legacy industries today are poised for disruption, they have not innovated at all and have relied on regulation to keep them in business. Blockchain has exposed these industries and has begun disrupting them. Finance and gold are already in the midst of huge disruption by Bitcoin and DeFi and this is just the beginning.
Blockchain will continue to disrupt many such industries.
What is your most controversial opinion relating to blockchain and/or cryptocurrency?
The winner in the decentralized smart contract blockchain race (ETH, DOT, ADA) will eventually be bigger than Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a store of value and will win this race but the bigger opportunity is on derivatives, on the store of value and this will be just one application of many on the smart contract blockchains.
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