About The Artist
“Memes are the quickest way to transfer a lot of information at once. Bitcoin is the quickest way to transfer a lot of value at once. Is it any wonder they go together so well?” ~ @ibtclieve on birdsite
If you haven’t already seen a dozen of Yellow’s memes by now, you’re either not old enough to operate a modern digital device or are too busy digging gold rocks out of the side of a Congolese mountain. Fo’ real: Yellow (callsign @ICOffender) has had his viral video clips featured and faved by some proper Bitcoin OG’s – from Adam Back and Samson Mow to Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert.
In fact it was a small relief for me to recognise, via a recent Orange Pill Podcast episode, that Max and Stacy had succumbed (like me) to what I affectionately call “Yellow Fever” – a chronic and ultimately debilitating condition caused by one of ICOffender’s memes hijacking your inner monologue and refusing to let you go *pop pop pop* *taco taco taco* – argh! ????
THE INTERVIEW 1/4
"I remember times when we were talking about $1 billion and then we were like, whoa, what the fuck is this? $1 trillion – it’s unbelievable"
I think it’s fair to argue that Yellow is a meme master – despite him being armed with nothing more than “a shitty old android phone” (his words) and a packet of cigarettes. Despite his commendable low-time preference approach, though, he manages to sculpt the most hilarious, mind-bending clips that you’ll find on Bitcoin Twitter.
Pushed for a favourite amongst his many creations, he calls out Hodlers of Bitcoin – a video rip that took him TWO SOLID WEEKS to make. Welp! WTF have YOU been doing with your time, dear reader? If you’re new to the meme game and keen to learn the craft, take note – Yellow is a fully-committed, apex memographer whose ingenious noggin nuggets get stuck for a reason. It’s proof of work in the meme-mining world. Tick tock, next mock!
His creativity and tenacity recently paid-off too, when he struck-out to Strike champ Jack Mallers and offered his services for the game-changing Bitcoin payments brand. Jack seized the opportunity and hired Yellow and fellow memers @GregZaj1 and @RD_BTC on the spot as Strike’s first Chief Meme Officers. His timing was perfect – some of their #LaserRayUntil100k memes were picked up by Forbes, Slate and Newsweek, resulting in Strike’s logo being seen by countless people around the world.
MEME SELECTION
#01
Original vid from Xanderhttps://t.co/wV3GHXYG5n
— yellow (@ICOffender) September 23, 2020
Music from https://t.co/AmRYV5tSsf
Original tune is a classic by Edward Artemyev.
(i'm gonna keep on uploading it jack) pic.twitter.com/IbC8j2GSKz
#03
for the reditor that didn't believe me. It's oke bro 🙂 pic.twitter.com/ZRYeKhnbsF
— yellow (@ICOffender) November 17, 2020
THE INTERVIEW 2/4
"I lost all that money and time. Hodling shitcoins is like the worst idea you could ever have. I learned that the hard way."
While Yellow’s creations are cause for celebration and well-deserved attention, things haven’t always been a bed of roses for him. As a sponsor of what he jokingly called “Mark Karpeles’s Personal Investment Fund”, he got pretty heavily rekt by the Mt. Gox hack back in 2014. Despite the misfortune, he picked himself up and started rebuilding his Bitcoin savings from what he had left at the end of each month.
You could say that Yellow wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with dark financial shenanigans, though, and was possibly more experienced with the impacts of sudden and devastating financial losses than most; like countless others in his home country of Greece, he had a ringside seat to the impacts of austerity in the late 2000s.
As the GFC unfolded, he was on the front-lines of resistance and looking for answers. He found some via the clarion words of Max and Stacy, who had made their way to Greece all those years ago to report on the economic crimes of globalist stooges in real-time – something they have consistently done for many years now.
MEME SELECTION
#01
Everyone Is Welcomed On Yellow's Katamaran! ⛵ 🌞 pic.twitter.com/moNapP6ED6
— yellow (@ICOffender) October 17, 2020
#03
#DeFi this rug pull if you want to #DeFi pic.twitter.com/tEvsvzJAJ0
— yellow (@ICOffender) September 29, 2020
THE INTERVIEW 3/4
"I was listening to Max & Stacy back in 2009/2010. They were two of the first people who showed me how corrupt the system is"
Yellow had friends and neighbours who saw their businesses destroyed virtually overnight by austerity – what he describes as “an act of war” by politicians, as previously affluent family friends were left with no income nor means to provide basics for themselves or their loved ones. Many were forced to seek help from local churches just for their daily meals. Some took their own lives.
As a young man witnessing the economic rug being pulled from underneath him and his community, Yellow was eager to build sovereign defences for himself. He was hanging around some anarchist forums when he first heard about Bitcoin, and having seen what happened in neighbouring Cyprus with government-led bail-ins in March 2013, the case for a money that couldn’t be seized or debased through government diktat was a strong one. He embraced it, via the only exchange that was available to him at the time; Mt. Gox – making his story of attempted escape from financial tyranny all the more poignant.
MEME SELECTION
#01
Seeing all the @hodlonaut custom Avis, can't help but feel happy about the level of solidarity against billionaire scammers and their tactics.
— yellow (@ICOffender) January 19, 2021
Bitcoiners or not you guys have my respect! 🙏🤝pic.twitter.com/mh4CFCrReK
#03
Here's to the hodlers. Their journey is painful but they maintain their resolve. In my eyes, you're all like Mike. 🙏#Bitcoin #HODL
— yellow (@ICOffender) May 13, 2020
click👇 for 🔊 pic.twitter.com/2XrkfUgE23
THE INTERVIEW 4/4
I came away from my conversation with Yellow seeing him as a fighter and survivor, and his fun characters like the Bitcoin popcat – which brings so much fun and amusement to so many – as memetic weaponry forged in some pretty hot fires. Maybe that’s why they hit so hard.
To hear more of Yellow’s story, including his lessons and warnings on Bitcoin idolatry and his visions for a sea-going citadel of catamarans, check out my audio interview with him linked above.
"What matters is that kind of solidarity between the guys. They only have one thing in common, which is Bitcoin and their love to meme about it. And that’s amazing"