Follow Friday: @RichardHeartWin

This week’s Follow Friday is Richard Heart, the founder of BitcoinHex. A prominent YouTuber and active Twitter user, we caught up with Richard to discuss his views on cryptocurrency and the community.

RC: Tell us about how you first became involved in cryptocurrency and what attracted you to the space.

Richard Heart: I retired in 2003 from an internet marketing business and I had lots of free time. I spent most of this time reading Reddit, which was all about technology back then. I first heard of Bitcoin when it was under $1, and then again when someone sold their house to buy in after it had gone over $1, I believe. I started mining it in early 2011 and was happy to be part of the people that could mine on GPU without a pool.

RC: You’re active on a variety of social media platforms. How do you view the community of Crypto Twitter as a whole?

RH: Crypto Twitter is pretty awesome. If there is news, you’ll hear it there first or on Telegram. Since it’s the only place where you can hear all the devs, captains of industry, traders, and news first, it’s vital. Yes there’s smack talk, and that is unavoidable on any open forum. Every social media platform goes from good to cancerous as it ages. The key is to find the new good ones when they start.

RC: One of your biggest videos is an interview with Roger Ver. How did you find him and the experience as a whole?

RH: Bitcoin Cash is trash, and what comes around goes around. First, Roger and Jihan brought you the contentious hard fork and CSW, and then they got harmed by them. Now, CSW and crew have brought lawsuits to the space and they’ll probably be harmed by them too. The whole cancerous bunch of them have poisoned the space and the reverb will be felt for decades.

RC: What’s the latest on the BitcoinHex project?

RH: BitcoinHex is going amazing. It’s the best game theory I’ve ever seen in a token. If you combine the best game theory with trustless and more security (no inflation bugs, no 51% drama, no Mt Gox dumping on you), you should end up in the top three coins. We’re testing internally now on a private testnet to see if we can find any bugs before we submit the contract for audit.

RC: I have spoken a lot about shilling and asked each of our previous Follow Fridays their opinion on such. Can you give us your take on shilling within the cryptocurrency space?

RH: I like shilling. I made millions of dollars on affiliate programs in my 20’s. The key to shilling is doing it artfully and at scale. It’s why BitcoinHex has a 5% referral program. The evil side of shilling is when people don’t promote a good project and instead they promote scams. That is terrible. Why not just promote good? Surely there are enough good things out there? BitMEX is good, or VPNs where you can get 50% off.

RC: Where do you see the space in five years?

RH: In five years, lots of coins you hear about today will never be heard of again. Lots of loudmouths will never be heard of again. Bitcoin will still be alive and kicking. The price will be higher than it is today. BitcoinHEX will be top three, or even top one, and will probably be rebranded to something better.

RC: Finally, where do you get your jazzy jackets from?

RH: You can get awesome jackets from a tailor that you bring fabric to or choose fabrics with. Or you can hit up the stage supplies section of Alibaba, but you’re going to need to order two sizes larger than you would be in the west.

You can find Richard over on his Twitter here or on his YouTube channel here.