All terms
Someone pretending to be something they are not, usually an insider or a large holder.
From live action role play. A larp in crypto is a person performing an identity: a fake fund manager, a fake developer, a fake early holder with a screenshot of gains that are not theirs. The performance exists to make you act on what they say.
It is trivially cheap. Screenshots are edited in seconds, wallet addresses are copied not proven, and an anonymous account with a professional tone costs nothing to run.
Proof in crypto is onchain. Anyone claiming to hold something can sign a message from that wallet or show the address. Someone who will not is telling you the answer.
An account posting portfolio screenshots and calls, which turn out to be lifted from somebody else and posted after the move.
That a LARP is easy to spot. The whole point is a convincing costume: screenshots, claimed positions, borrowed credentials. The check is whether anything they say can be verified independently, not whether it sounds plausible.
Common questions
How do I spot a LARP?
Why does LARPing work?
Where to go next
More culture terms
Want this explained out loud?
Some of these land faster in conversation than in writing. Sessions are one to one and you can ask anything, including the things that feel too obvious to ask.