Coinbase hires pseudonymous poster AlexOnchain as first ‘Crypto Twitter lead’ in bid to expand social media presence

Coinbase has hired notable “Crypto Twitter” personality @AlexOnchain as its first “CT leader,” according to an announcement on Friday. Alex joins the firm with a long history in crypto marketing, having spent four years as the head of social media and community at Binance.

According to Alex, the full-time role will have him working directly with Coinbase’s executive team in an effort to highlight “everything they’ve contributed to this space.” He’s joining Coinbase after leaving rival Binance in March 2024, after claiming to grow Binance’s social media following by 20 million across platforms.

“They’re the best in the industry,” Alex said on X about his new employer. “But, they’ve been getting a lot of stick. Part of the solution is right here on twitter. The new focus is making comms more social native – direct, transparent and engaging.”

Crypto Twitter, or CT, is a loosely connected community that formed before Elon Musk purchased and rebranded X where users discuss the ecosystem’s news. It is largely regarded as the most important communication channel for the industry, alongside Telegram and Discord.

Alex noted that Coinbase is looking to grow its social team, posting in a separate X message that he is looking for a “writer/content creator” to work under him. He noted he was personally motivated to join the firm after being promised “no corporate BS, no ridiculous content review processes.”

Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, is a frequent target for criticism in and out of the crypto ecosystem. For instance, the company’s customer support efforts have long been lambasted on social media — well before the exchange disclosed it had leaked KYC data for 10s of thousands of customers in a systematic breach.

The exchange also drew flak in June when joining Oracle and Palantir in sponsoring the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary military parade, which some commentators saw as a contradiction of CEO Brian Armstrong’s previously announced desire for Coinbase to remain “mission-focused” and “apolitical.”

That said, Coinbase executives like Base creator Jesse Pollak and Protocol Specialist Viktor Bunin have made a concerted effort to maintain an active presence on social media, particularly X. Pollak, for instance, has been an advocate for so-called “content coins” that represent digital media and could gain value based on cultural relevance rather than pure speculation.

Alex’s job announcement was preceded by a staged “takeover” of Coinbase’s X feed. During that time, Coinbase updated its profile picture to a Pudgy Penguine NFT character.