NFT Alpha Caller? What are they, who are they, and how did we get here?
Alpha callers are a “relatively” new phenomenon in the NFT space, but they are quickly gaining popularity. The term “alpha caller” refers to a person who specializes in making calls about entries and exits to NFT projects. Overall a good Alpha Caller has a solid sense of market sentiment, what the current meta is, and where the highest probability of price action will be.
The ever-growing demand for Alpha Callers has become almost a meta in itself as NFT project founders scramble to provide value and utility to their holders beyond being a social club. The current bear market where most individuals are down over 75% and euphoria has been replaced with depression and anger. Feeding the mob before it turns on you has almost become the status quo.
We had an opportunity to catch up with @Colosh whose journey into NFTs and Web3 started eerily similar to many but he managed to learn along the way and turn that into an opportunity. Let’s dive in.
It does need to be said that alpha callers aren’t always right, and you should never spend more than you can afford to lose.
How did you get started in NFTs?
I started to hear rumors that people were actually paying thousands of dollars for worthless JPEGs. It was weird at first, and even weirder after I found out how much and how many people are actually buying. My journey into NFT was rough and not fun at all — because I arrived during a really bad grind meta. As an innovative person I made a few bots for grinding engagement while I’m sleeping (not a classic discord bot, just a script that writes in my name from time to time and I filled it with dad-jokes and nonsense NFT-shit-talk) I figured out quick (and sorry for this) that in the NFT word people are stupid — or at least not as smart as they think. Projects would simply use this to hook them. There are really talented traders, and worthy projects as well, but people simply don’t understand it’s money after all — and no one should care about the JPEG, it’s just a layer on the newest money print machine. That’s when I started to understand really how this machine works.
Unfortunately, my first project experience was an obvious RUG, (Metavatars) which was easy to spot through my previous development knowledge. Later on, I found true alpha groups who degen and grow together, and in the long run, I will do something similar and raise a new generation of successful traders.
Are you working full time in web3 or split between web2 & 3?
I’m split between web2 & web3. Web3 is still not stable enough to make it my primary source of income, though I make a lot. My primary source is still my job as Technical Team Lead — and I don’t see leaving it any time soon, because I love doing it as well.
What was your first mint?
It was too long ago and I can’t really remember. I minted a few just to try out how it all works. I tried to automate it without too much success and ended up losing my gas fee badly. If I remember correctly my first actual mint where I did not just test things out was a public raffle mint. It ended up being a gas war. Somehow I won it and listed instantly for 2.2x money (Gas counted in). It was around 3 AM, and the next morning I had an important meeting at my IRL job, so I went to sleep. Somehow, from pure fortune, because back then I didn’t know anything about floor thickness/volume/etc. It was sold at the top. This gamble feeling grabbed me and ever since I’m hooked by it badly :).
What is your preferred chain and why?
ETH, because only SOL is the other chain and it is for the poor. Just joking! Honestly, I see a lot more possibilities in ETH. I could go into details as a developer, trader, and someone who looks for innovative stuff all the time, and just look at the numbers and read what the ETH merge will mean not only for Ethereum but for every other crypto as well.
Have you been rugged? If so, who?
Only on degen plays. I went on FOMO plays many times. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. I think I’m still in a few slow-rug projects where founders simply disappear and the project is slowly dying out (Beanbag Frens, … I won’t share with others because I have faith but there are many), and I’ve been in a lot where the NFT didn’t reveal or it was stolen.
Did you trade crypto prior to NFTs?
No, I’ve tried many times but it’s boring for me.
How did your alpha journey begin?
By learning a LOT. I’ve called out a few really good shots, mostly degens first then started to research more and went over long-term calls, made a few “true alpha” calls on “normal market” when I realized in time that the floor is thin and the project is about to announce something cool… First I started as a degen-caller in little projects, most of them didn’t go well and left them (unfortunately I don’t have too much free time / without compensation I don’t do calls anymore) and later I arrived into a few really good places and made good connections in the space.
What was your ah-ha moment in realizing a need for alpha callers?
When I saw people choose wrong, and basically they got deceived easily. I wanted to help them, teach them how to play, and decide. First I was like everyone else. I tried to make money but lost way more. I like to work with other callers to talk about tactics, how to call, what’s the risk — etc. I love when I’m not alone as a caller on a server because I want to learn from others.
How have you adapted to changing metas?
Easily, but not always in time. I have a lot of stuck-in liquidity because I simply had other things to do and forgot about selling my piss-goblin-meta things, or jumping off the Solana-Copy train in time. In the NFT space, the meta can change every single day. If someone is not doing it full time it’s almost impossible to adapt every single time. The best you can do is try and don’t go to sleep when you have 1–2 ETH in something, it probably won’t see the sunlight. (happened a few times. Sleep RUGged me many times :D )
What is the current meta in the bear market?
Last I checked everyone is trying to mock and copy Saudis… Other than that, big projects struggle and there is no real money flowing into NFTs because everyone is waiting for ETH to dip even lower. Every longer-hold call is too risky to make now, even blue-chips are struggling to stay above water.
Additionally, whitelist (WL) and collab meta is the new thing. Get into a project that can secure the most WL spots on upcoming degens and you probably will get a profit, just don’t get greedy and sell your bag on 1st/ 2nd pump and never look back again.
If you had 20 ETH, what are you buying? (NFA, of course)
From 20 ETH I could go for a longer Vacation/ pay back part of my loan… etc. ETH is still too fragile, and I don’t see any bullish sign in the short term. This is why I got most of my liquidity out 2 months ago.
If you want to stick with NFTs then: Godjira Gen2 (probably the best undervalued blue-chip now), Llamaverse Genesis, and Gridcraft (to generate bits for upcoming tokenomics). I’d put most in those and leave ~5 ETH for momentum and degen plays. With 2–3 ETH in lower valued projects, you can generate a serious pump & dump which is the ultimate whale mechanism to print money.
What excites you about the future of NFTs?
Well, first we should step away from JPEGs. It’s only slowing down the real improvements and innovative stuff. The next step is to step away from greed and money printing and stop following paid promoters. Then, start to invest in real projects that provide long-term value.
What excites me the most is the potential of a codable/tradeable blockchain. NFT is only the first hyped approach — many others will come.
Any predictions for the bear market?
The bear market will stop when World’s economic system stabilizes a little and people will decide again to go and gamble with their money in the form of JPEGs. No one can predict when it ends. So far everyone is building Alpha Groups, Tools, and degen plays — those are the most hyped. 99.9% of them will fail long term, and true value will show after this bear market.
How do you foresee the alpha meta changing as the market matures?
Everyone calls himself/herself Alpha Caller now… Unfortunately, most of them are only pumping their own bags, which is the cancer of the current market. My suggestion is only to listen to Callers you trust, do not FOMO into anything, and try to find a trustworthy alpha group. Keep in mind that 99% of them will fail once the degen meta is over. Additionally do not trust in groups where people get a Caller role once they have 1–2 good calls. They were lucky most of the time but still don’t know shit about the market ;).
Who do you recommend following on Twitter?
Well, it’s hard to say now as most ‘influencers’ went ~AFK in the last few months. Probably LLamas & Godjira founder as they are 200 IQ people and have really good insight. Other than that a good suggestion is: do not follow twitter-farming whales because they play pump and dump through Twitter and rumors
Thank you to Colosh for taking the time to chat with us about your journey into Web3 and NFTs along with the lessons you learned along the way. The largest single takeaway from this interview in my opinion is that it is critical to always do your own research into projects. Secondly, don’t let emotions be your guiding hand, and stay secure in your logical mind. NFTs are an evolving ecosystem and the current bear market is weeding the garden of the bad actors and projects that don’t have the staying power to truly become viable businesses or clubs.
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