Top blockchain-related accounts to follow to stay up to date with the decentralized world
With rapid blockchain development and new blockchain projects popping up every day, it can seem hard to stay up with new trends. Whether you are someone looking to get into building blockchain projects, NFT development, or simply want to know the best DeFi tokens to invest in, there are people, projects, and news aggregators that really know what they are talking about.
Although by no means a definitive list, we have got together some of the most authoritative voices and projects in the DeFi sphere. From next-generation blockchain projects spurring greater DeFi development to NFT marketplaces and unbiased news sources, we are here to share our top Twitter accounts to follow to stay up to date with the decentralized world.
Why follow crypto/blockchain projects on Twitter?
Twitter is by no means the only platform through which you can learn about things like DeFi or dApp development. There are of course news on sites such as Coin Telegraph, blogs on Medium and Decrypt, and accounts on messaging platforms such as Discord and Telegram, but Twitter has the furthest reach, visibility, and immediacy, making it a top choice for projects to run promotions, tell the community about exciting updates, and advertise jobs.
List of blockchain experts and analysts
There are a lot of self-proclaimed blockchain and crypto experts out there, who are willing to post every time Bitcoin makes a move, but there is a lot more knowledge that can be gained from following blockchain experts such as Vitalik Buterin, Brian Armstrong, and Charles Hoskinson.
Vitalik Buterin
Unlike the still-unknown Bitcoin creator, Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin is the very public face of the blockchain that is central to the DeFi ecosystem, appearing on CNN, conducting interviews with Bloomberg, and routinely adding to his extremely informative, albeit minimalist blog.
Buterin has amassed a huge 2.3 million followers on Twitter, not just because he talks about Ethereum, but because he brings great insights into what is happening in the wider blockchain space in an approachable way.
Brian Armstrong
Another pioneer in the cryptocurrency space, Brian Armstrong is the founder of CoinBase, the third-largest exchange in the world with a valuation of over $100 billion after an April 2021 direct public listing.
Armstrong’s Twitter is a mix of Coinbase promotions, retweets of interesting comments from members of the crypto community, and lately, a retelling of Coinbase’s saga with the SEC, over a new lending feature that was slated for release soon, but is now up in the air.
Charles Hoskinson
Charles Hoskinson is an authoritative voice in the blockchain space, having co-founded Ethereum and then founding Cardano, the first scalable and widely-used proof-of-stake blockchain. Its roadmap, divided into five stages, involves evolving to be a decentralized application (dApp) development platform.
Followed by over 600,000 people, Hoskinson’s Twitter has real personality, with Tweets ranging from the work Cardano is doing to memes, self-promotion, and political commentary.
List of promising DeFi projects
DeFi is the area where the theoretical benefits of smart contracts are actually put to use. Participants can see and interact with different protocols in what could be a real competitor to centralized finance in the next few years. Here are some of the projects worth following for everything DeFi.
Ethereum
As the main blockchain for DeFi projects, Ethereum is at the center of most innovative projects. What’s more, it plans to expand its dominance with the release of Ethereum 2.0, which is introducing greater scalability, stable gas fees and Proof-of-Stake. Upgrades so far have gone smoothly, and there is confidence in the project, with over US$29 billion locked into the Eth2 deposit staking contract. It is this sentiment that is leading many to believe that Ethereum can “flip Bitcoin” in terms of cryptocurrency market capitalization.
With over 1.5 million followers, the Ethereum Twitter account is a vital source of information on protocol updates, as well as other happenings in the blockchain sphere, with around 6 posts per week.
Binance Smart Chain
Binance Smart Chain (BSC), at just over a year old, is a relatively new blockchain for creating smart contract-based applications. It works alongside the Binance Chain digital asset exchange, offering high transaction capacity and lower costs. BSC has shot to prominence recently as part of the GameFi trend, with CryptoBlades and My DeFi Pet hosted on the blockchain.
Binance Smart Chain Twitter has 1 million followers and posts several times a day on the different projects it is involved with, so you can get up-to-the-minute info on things such as Pancake Swap’s upcoming NFT marketplace launch.
Polygon
Polygon, created by Ethereum developers and launched in 2020, is a layer-2 network operating on the Ethereum blockchain, with sidechains allowing greater scalability to support various DeFi protocols.
The Polygon guys know what they are talking about, and they share interesting developments with their 645,000 Twitter followers, including updates on decentralized games, NFTs, DeFi projects and opportunities to learn.
Solana
Solana has been in the news a lot recently, owing to the fact that its native token has risen over 500% in the last month alone. It claims to be the fastest blockchain in the world, with low transactions and easy scalability. Solana serves projects in the DeFi, NFT, and Web 3.0 sectors, putting it at the center of current innovative developments in blockchain.
Solana’s fast-growing Twitter account, currently at over 540,000 followers, posts several times a day, including retweets from its linked projects, such as Saber, Sunny, and the Solana Foundation.
Aave Protocol
Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Aave is currently the biggest lending protocol by market capitalization, having skyrocketed in popularity during the DeFi wave of 2020. There is currently US$15 billion locked in Aave, where users stake their cryptocurrencies to provide collateralized loans to users.
Aave’s Twitter account has a comparatively modest 287,000 followers, but it is well worth following, as any upgrades, proposals, integrations, and new developments can be tracked, including the recent cross-chain governance initiative.
Uniswap
Uniswap is the leading decentralized exchange (DEX), where users have full control over their funds, and smart contracts govern automated transactions that occur via liquidity pools. The Uniswap ecosystem is constantly evolving, with over 200 integrations with other DeFi protocols.
Uniswap Labs posts a couple of times a week to their 620,000 followers, with new coin listings, user guides, job openings.
List of promising NFT marketplaces
Proving to be more than just a flash in the pan, NFTs are now becoming a stable part of the blockchain landscape. While new NFT marketplaces are being created all the time, here are three of the most established ones to follow.
Rarible
Rarible bills itself as the first community-owned marketplace with an art focus. Its Twitter account posts several times a day, showing off new collections and exclusives.
OpenSea
OpenSea is the biggest NFT marketplace, where users can mint and sell their own NFTs easily. The marketplace has everything from art and music to domain names and crypto collectibles. By following OpenSea’s Twitter, you can see new artworks and retweets about significant events in the NFT community, as well as other new projects, such as the collaboration between OpenSea and Spatial to create a 3D virtual gallery.
KnownOrigin
KnownOrigin, with its sleek design, has positioned itself as the marketplace for rare digital art and NFTs. As an artist, all you need to do is upload your artwork and documentation, which is then tokenized and displayed in the gallery. The KnownOrigin Twitter page is worth following for hot off the press NFTs, live event dates, and information on NFT drops.
List of blockchain & crypto media news sources
Lastly, we come to some DeFi news sources. Where other Twitter profiles are understandably invested in their own product, these accounts give a broader and assessment of everything happening in the DeFi, crypto, and blockchain space.
Bankless
Bankless is a project designed to successfully navigate through the world of decentralized finance. Along with their regular newsletter, Bankless’s Twitter feed is an endless source of tutorials, podcasts, and interesting retweets from the most up-to-date developments in the world of DeFi.
DeFi Rate
Although posting much less than its competitors, DeFi Rate is a dependable source of information on all things DeFi. The weekly newsletter is a great round-up of all the most important developments, written in a way that is not too technical, and the website contains comparative rates for lending and borrowing of different cryptocurrencies between the major DeFi protocols.
DeFi Pulse
DeFi Pulse is a very user friendly site with a snapshot of the top DeFi projects, ranked by Total Value Locked (TVL) and differentiated by sector; derivatives, lending, DEXes and so on. There is also a blog, and as stated on their Twitter page, the team hopes to “Establish standards that the DeFi community can get behind.” With interviews, retweets, stats and guides, DeFi Pulse’s channel is a great place to get all the latest info.
Blockchain development services with my team at INC4
As we can see, DeFi is advancing rapidly, making it an extremely exciting space to be in. Making sure you are on top of all developments is especially important if you wish to build a cutting edge decentralized application or marketplace that captures the market. These Twitter accounts of leading projects, individuals, and news sources are a good place to start.
If you are onto the stage of development, or find yourself in need of blockchain consulting from experts in the field, turn to my team at INC4. We have strong experience in DeFi, NFT platforms, and smart contract audits, so if you’re ready to take the next step in your blockchain project, get in touch and talk to one of our knowledgeable specialists!
