In 2025, I spent a lot of time in the crypto space. I noticed that many so-called “KOIs” were selling courses — teaching people how to trade futures, for example. It’s similar to what you see on platforms like Xiaohongshu, where people sell content about “upgrading your cognition” or “how to make money.”
To me, this all falls under the same category: cognitive exploitation — basically a more sophisticated version of an “IQ tax.”
Let me start with the conclusion: you can block these people. Mentally label them as low-level operators or straight-up scammers.
Some people compare it to selling English courses. Teaching English, however, is a different story. In many non-English-speaking countries, teaching English is a legitimate and important source of income for people who are proficient in it. That’s fundamentally different from what these crypto course sellers are doing. Their primary goal is to make money off you.
The logic is simple: if their “insights” or futures trading strategies are truly profitable, why would they need to sell courses to generate another stream of income? Especially when futures trading is essentially a zero-sum game — much like many sales-driven markets. To put it bluntly, if you can make money honestly, why resort to elaborate schemes that border on deception and invite criticism?
I once saw an interesting post asking: what kind of person becomes a KOI? The answer was: first, someone without a conscience; second, someone with very thick skin.
The crypto world is just a microcosm of society. Where there is speculation, there will be scams — and other shady behavior. If you look closely, many of these “KOIs” operate in morally gray areas.
That said, I’m only using crypto as an example. I’m not anti-crypto. I genuinely respect the people who are building real products and infrastructure in the space. I just hope the industry doesn’t get derailed by this kind of toxic behavior.