ETF Prime: Tom Lydon Talks Social Media and NFTs

On the heels of publishing a list of the top 50 FinTwit (shorthand for “financial Twitter”) accounts — the first 25 are published now, the next are coming soon — Lydon shares his insights into the intersection and growth of social media in the ETF space, as well as the financial advisor community.

As Lydon explains, the ETFinTwit 50 personalities aren’t just knowledgeable individuals on finance, they come from all different backgrounds and demographics. They exist as an important network that has become especially helpful for investors during this pandemic era, functioning as a solid group of people that can be relied on for various forms of advice, even entertainment.

Lydon adds, “We want to make sure that we recognize people not just for their involvement in ETFs or stocks. Some are advisors, some are in the ETF business, some support the financial advisor community, some are in tangential businesses that touch on investors or educate in certain ways. We feel like we have a good group and a good start.”

On a broader level, says Lydon, social media has seen financial advisors stepping into a role akin to first responders in the age of COVID-19. They had to support clients and employees while adjusting communication methods to accommodate the working-from-home status. As a result, social media has become a great outlet and tool to rely on as a means for staying updated, providing support, and delivering guidance.

“It can really help you get off the ground,” Lydon points out, in reference to how social media can be a good way in for various investors and businesses during an age that has led to more virtual relationships. This has been seen by bigger issuers as well, who have embraced various forms of digital distribution. 

Later in the episode, Randy Wasinger, founder and CEO of Cryptoslam, joins Geraci to go over non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Cryptoslam offers a one-stop shop to track and value NFTs, which has become one of the hottest topics of the year. As far as where this crypto-based aggregation platform came from, Wasinger was simply following the industry, jumped in early on in 2018, and applied his fandom for baseball to guide him on an interesting journey.

“Crytposlam is a great place for discovery and research of NFTs,” Wasinger adds. “We aim to be the place for investors to go to and discover what’s out there in a few ways.”

As far as what may have caused the explosion of NFT popularity this year, Wasinger explains how mainstream users essentially find an easy way to blockchain through things like MBA Topshot, which paved the way for a more accessible path. The seamless way of bringing people in with ease made a much more pleasant experience for those with interests who could not fathom what to do earlier.

“Ideally, we want to track it all,” Wasinger notes, as far as what he wants Cryptoslam to be able to focus on in an effort to keep ahead of things. They’re currently working hard to onboard projects faster and more efficiently to provide the ideal experience, as this trend/sector continues to be dealt with successfully.

Closing out the episode, Geraci speaks with Caitlin Cook, head of community at Onramp Invest and vice president of operations at Onramp Academy. As mentioned, they discuss the importance of crypto education for financial advisors. As noted, even for advisors highly skeptical of crypto, NFTs, etc., the bottom line is that with clients for whom advisors are managing money, it is important to be able to have an intelligent conversation around these topics.

Connecting this back to the social media discussion, Cook is also a part of the FinTwit crowd, as her presence on Twitter has allowed her to be one of the most notable forces out there when it comes to this world of financial Twitter.

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