Crypto exchange KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu recently announced that it will be launching an “Anti-FUD Fund” to scout out for “FUDers” and possibly take legal action against them, as well as educating crypto users on spotting inaccurate information.
The CEO stated that one of three elements that the fund will be touching upon is education, where students will learn — online and offline — what FUD is and how to identify them.
The fund will also be motivating and spreading praises for responsible industry leaders and influencers who help their followers or customers avoid FUD.
Last but not least, the fund will aim to weed out individuals — with the help of Web 3.0. technology — who deliberately spread FUD and tale legal action against them. Lyu remarked that those who spread false rumours should not be merely brushed off as their words can potentially affect the market for the worse.
The decision to launch this fund came two days after Lyu published a blog post lambasting a crypto industry whistleblower called “Otteroooo” for slandering his firm. Prior to the blog post, the CEO got involved in a heated argument with Otteroooo on Twitter.
According to Otteroooo, KuCoin’s exposure to the former Wrapped LUNA token has led to the token’s great crash in May, making the exchange insolvent. Lyu argued back by denying that KuCoin had internal exposure to LUNA and is actually not insolvent. Since then, Otteroooo’s account was removed from the social media.
Although Lyu’s fight against FUD and FUDers may be seen as a good news for the crypto industry, it can potentially backfire. While some defenders of crypto projects may fight back false claims designed to sully a project’s reputation, the others may also simply label any bad press as FUD regardless of its accuracy.
Case in point, BankToTheFuture founder Simon Dixon pointed out that his doubts in regards to troubled crypto lender Celsius’ balance sheet were dismissed as FUD. However, Dixon — who has supported various efforts to save Celsius — claimed that his opinions hold water and are based on data.
