JK Rowling, one of the world’s most famous and outspoken authors has attempted to quell a crypto-themed Twitter tornado of her own making – and says she has learned never to be “flippant” about Bitcoin (BTC) on Twitter again.
On Saturday, May 16, the Harry Potter creator opened Pandora’s Box when she replied to Twitter users in a tweet that read,
“I don’t understand bitcoin. Please explain it to me.”
What followed can only be described as an unearthly free-for-all.
Pro-crypto evangelists from all corners of the earth emerged wild-eyed, ready to fight the good fight.
A variety of individuals of all sorts of stripes tweeted Rowling with verbose explanations, offers of help navigating the world of cryptocurrencies and bold prophecies about the heady heights the world’s leading crypto will reach in the years ahead.
The tweet also succeeded in triggering the prophets of doom, who appeared online in force, replete with firey predictions about the imminent failure of BTC and other cryptocurrency projects.
Just two days later, though, it appears that Rowling has already had enough, telling her 14.6 million followers on Twitter that she “feels fully educated on the subject.”
On point 3: my mentions are still full of people trying to get me to buy Bitcoin or to explain it to me. It’s very… https://t.co/OZJ3ycnlZB
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling)
This plea appears to have fallen on deaf ears, however, as the replies to this latest BTC-themed tweet are unrelentingly laden with yet bolder predictions of BTC’s imminent success – and more bitcoin proselytization than Harry Potter could wave a wand at.
Other Twitter users suggested that Rowling, one of the wealthiest authors alive, might have inadvertently driven up the price of bitcoin over the weekend, with prices edging up into the green. Some theorized that she was ready to “diversify” her portfolio with an imminent BTC investment.
The Harry Potter author’s tweet elicited some big-name responses, too, with the likes of Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), chiming in with a reply – albeit one that was not to everyone’s liking.
If someone asked me about Bitcoin and I wanted to make sure they never mention it again, this is exactly what I’d a… https://t.co/aSrhOu4mUe
— Udi Wertheimer (@udiWertheimer)
The heads of exchanges Coinbase and Binance jumped on the bandwagon rather unsuccesfully.
The CEO of Coinbase responded to a fake JK Rowling tweet and encouraged it to buy shitcoins https://t.co/cy1zo2yCZZ
— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart)
“give a women a fish” omg delete this what are you doing
— Udi Wertheimer (@udiWertheimer)
Rowling stoked the flames of this blazing social media crypto inferno later on May 16, perhaps enjoying her (admittedly alcohol-fueled) troll-baiting a little too much.
I know you mean to help, but full disclosure: I’m only allowing myself alcohol at weekends during this lockdown and… https://t.co/u9yt1mJObX
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling)
Others took a more sober view of affairs – and urged Twitter users to recognize that Rowling was clearly “taking [the] piss” with her BTC-themed tweets.
Paul Tudor Jones buying bitcoin futures is huge news. A famous novelist taking a piss and asking about bitcoin isn’… https://t.co/dACkDa3fPz
— Matthew Graham (@mattysino)
Epilogue
It appears that lockdown is taking its toll on poor Ms Rowling, who – mere minutes after claiming she was putting her Twitter-bitcoin baiting to bed – has returned to the social media platform for another kick of the hornets’ nest. This time she quips that she has spurned BTC in favor of building up a large stash of ETH.
This is getting silly. I’m not joining the Bitcoin community. It should be perfectly obvious by now that I’ve been… https://t.co/By0A06E5jb
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling)
