From Who Anon to Lens Protocol, loldefi has made a name for himself as one of the leading cultural capturers in crypto. Yet, he reveals, it’s just the start.
In this week of Flywheel, we had on the one and only loldefi, an online pickle who’s keen eye for fashion and culture is undeniable. This particular interview I was quite excited for. I remember when I first came across loldefi when he dropped the “DeFi Dre '' tee on the timeline and it made it all the more cooler hearing the inside thought-process and story behind the iconic shirt.
loldefi came into crypto after spending over half a decade in the fashion industry, dotting the globe attending fashion weeks and grinding in the streetwear scene. In 2017, his priorities shifted and he immersed himself in crypto wholeheartedly, repurposing his grind mentality from the runways of Milan to protocols on-chain. From ICO-reviewer to media channel interviewer, loldefi paid his dues sticking around in the 2018-2019 bear market to make it to DeFi summer when he moved away from his doxxed identity to drop his first collection as loldefi. Between successful collections of Sushi and Pudgy Penguins and his prevailing success in the mania of last cycle, loldefi saw his fortunes take a turn for the best in an “up-only” direction.
Just as he would hit the fashion week calendar, loldefi became a regular on the crypto conference circuit and then some, going so far to host his own dinners and events. One thing that was clear was even when loldefi “made it” and was enjoying the party life, he was still not satisfied and hungry to create more. Noticing the failure to document crypto culture in a genuine manner that respected the privacy of the people in it, he conceived of the idea of Who Anon. Part-scrapbook, part-historical record, and all in good fun, Who Anon contrasts from the online culture it documents by existing as a physical book which can be redeemed from NFTs. Pages are filled with images capturing the IRL element of our online world with certain easter eggs sprinkled throughout the book that only those who know, know. In our interview, it was revealed for the first time that the 2nd Who Anon collection is to be minted before Christmas and the book itself was nominated to one one of Britain's most prestigious book awards.
To say that loldefi has big plans for the future is an understatement. Utilizing his connections in the fashion and entertainment industry, loldefi is merely waiting for the right timing in order to have maximum impact. Immediately though, loldefi hinted at a new project post-Who Anon that he has held in his back-pocket for the past 10-15 years. In the interview, he could not hide the excitement of his body language even with a mask on as he only revealed the name of it to be “Honeypot” and nothing else.
A degen at heart, outside of his projects, loldefi is still trading and trying to catch a wave on-chain. The two and a half verticals he is most excited for are gaming, AI, and social. Parallel in particular has his attention at the moment where he shared high praise for the team, trading cards, and upcoming game. When asked about Frax and stablecoins, loldefi shared positive thoughts towards Frax’s brand and believes that the biggest obstacles for stablecoins to overcome at a user level is education, commending efforts like ours on Flywheel that bring light to the densely information-rich subsection of crypto.
If there is one thing we learned from this interview, it’s that loldefi highly values patience and attention to detail. He shared a part of his creative process where he forces himself to look at 1000 images every day for inspiration. He may not know which images will be relevant to him in the future in that present moment, but it feeds him a constant supply of inspiration and when it comes time to cook up a new drop, he’s prepared, just like how the DeFi Dre shirt was conceived.
I have huge respect for creatives like loldefi and believe they are as instrumental to crypto as developers or traders are. Culture is the soul of any movement, and being able to present crypto as something that’s more than to just make a quick buck off of is vital to its long-term staying power. In terms of writing the script, we are still early and have the ability to write our story how we see fit. Yet, it takes visionaries like loldefi to record the culture accurately as it grows into something bigger than any of us can imagine right now. As 2024 closes in upon us, it’s clear that loldefi is well-positioned not just with his bags and more important culturally to make a substantial impact.
