P.T. Barnum once said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” Crypto analyst Tone Vays might beg to disagree after a tweet in which he revealed his substantial consulting hourly rate sparked a firestorm of mockery and insults.

The popular crypto trader and Twitter personality stuck his foot in his mouth on Thursday when he posted a tweet complaining about an unidentified person who contacted him on LinkedIn asking about the services that Vays provides.

NOT that I compare myself to Bill Gates but I wonder if he gets these daily on LinkedIn:

"I see you are involved in Computers, we can make great synergies together, when are you free for a phone call to chat about our interests"

Or Elon Musk about his interest in Space Travel ???? pic.twitter.com/y1QDnpmfSt — Tone Vays [Bali – Financial Summit] (@ToneVays) October 9, 2019

In his response, Vays revealed that he charges a consulting rate of 0.3 BTC per hour. That equates to roughly US$2,400 [AU$3,528] at the time he posted the tweet.

Vays then told the person that he “might want to Google [his] name” before contacting him again.

Watch your tone, Tone

The outrageousness of Vays’ hourly rate aside, it was the tone of his tweet that drew the lion’s share of the criticism.

From the humblebragging about NOT comparing himself to Bill Gates and Elon Musk while simultaneously lumping himself in with them to the arrogant-sounding “you may want to Google my name next time” comment, Vays’ tweet smacked of snobbery.

Crypto trader and Twitter personality @CryptoDonAlt called Vays out, saying, “I’m not sure if this was a good PR move by making the entirety of CT talk about you or a bad PR move by making the entirety of CT think you’re a helmet.”

“Either way, people usually don’t like to be told: ‘Do you even know who I am’. If you don’t trust me, ask Charles Hoskinson,” he added.

I’m not sure if this was a good PR move by making the entirety of CT talk about you or a bad PR move by making the entirety of CT think you’re a helmet. Either way, people usually don’t like to be told: “Do you even know who I am”.

If you don’t trust me, ask Charles Hoskinson. — DonAlt (@CryptoDonAlt) October 9, 2019

@Keswa didn’t mince words with his opinion, calling Vays’ comment the “douchiest comment of the year”:

“You may want to Google my name” doucheiest comment of the year award goes to Tone Vays — Keswa ⏳ (@Ninjiota) October 9, 2019

And @pjmorin20 was even more direct, flat out calling Vays an a**hole:

thats how you typically respond to people? wow you are an asshole — PJ Morin (@pjmorin20) October 9, 2019

Vays’ consulting fee isn’t that outrageous, is it?

Well, it depends on how you look at it. Compared to Bill Gates and Elon Musk (who Vays absolutely does not compare himself to), $2,400 per hour looks like chump change.

However, Vays isn’t the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company. He is an analyst, trader, crypto pundit, and consultant.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Vays was previously a derivatives trader and VP of Financial Systems at JPMorgan Chase and Assistant Vice President of Financial Systems at Bear Stearns.

As a consultant, the closest equivalent I could find is that of a financial advisor, for which the average consulting rate is between $100 and $400 per hour – sometimes a bit more if the consultant is with a particularly pedigreed firm or has a spectacular track record.

If Vays were at the high end of the track record scale, even if you doubled that rate to account for the premium that a specialized industry like cryptocurrency and blockchain can warrant, it’s still only a third of his stated rate.

Kinda makes you wonder what he’s basing the valuation of his time on, doesn’t it?

Vays clears the air

In the wake of his roasting by the crypto Twitterati, Vays took to Twitter once again to set the record straight.

Apparently the 0.3 BTC hourly rate is for “corporate consulting where u get a bunch of managers in a conference room to understand IF they need a Blockchain.”

1. I DO NOT have a speaking fee for events, at best I just get my expenses covered.

2. My 0.3 $BTC/hr rate is meant for corporate consulting where u get a bunch of managers in a conference room to understand IF they need a Blockchain. — Tone Vays [Bali – Financial Summit] (@ToneVays) October 14, 2019

When someone pointed out that his own website states that his rate is 0.1 BTC per hour ($834.62 at current Bitcoin prices), Vays added:

When I get around to it, it should say 0.1 private individual (which I stopped doing about 1.5 years ago cause I got too busy) & then 0.3 for corporate which I have not officially started advertising but eventually I will get off Twitter & one of those two will be u’r only option — Tone Vays [Bali – Financial Summit] (@ToneVays) October 14, 2019

Good to know, Tone. Good to know.