<s>
BitClout	B-Application
is	O
an	O
open	B-License
source	I-License
blockchain-based	O
social	O
media	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BitClout	B-Application
runs	O
on	O
a	O
custom	O
proof	O
of	O
work	O
blockchain	B-Application
,	O
and	O
is	O
a	O
prototype	O
of	O
what	O
can	O
be	O
built	O
on	O
DeSo	B-Application
(	O
short	O
for	O
"	O
Decentralized	O
Social	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BitClout	B-Application
's	O
founder	O
and	O
primary	O
leader	O
is	O
known	O
pseudonymously	O
as	O
"	O
diamondhands	O
"	O
(	O
slang	O
for	O
a	O
person	O
who	O
holds	O
an	O
investment	O
in	O
a	O
turbulent	O
market	O
)	O
;	O
his	O
real	O
name	O
is	O
Nader	O
al-Naji	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Under	O
development	O
since	O
2019	O
,	O
BitClout	B-Application
's	O
blockchain	B-Application
created	O
its	O
first	O
block	O
in	O
January	O
2021	O
,	O
and	O
BitClout	B-Application
itself	O
launched	O
publicly	O
in	O
March	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
supply	O
of	O
BitClout	B-Application
's	O
token	O
was	O
fixed	O
in	O
June	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bitclout	B-Application
is	O
a	O
prototype	O
of	O
what	O
can	O
be	O
built	O
on	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
DeSo	B-Application
blockchain	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
started	O
creating	O
a	O
custom	O
blockchain	B-Application
in	O
May	O
2019	O
,	O
but	O
did	O
n't	O
tell	O
anyone	O
else	O
until	O
November	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
fall	O
of	O
2020	O
,	O
al-Naji	O
pitched	O
BitClout	B-Application
's	O
own	O
investors	O
under	O
his	O
real	O
name	O
and	O
began	O
posting	O
job	O
listings	O
for	O
a	O
"	O
new	O
operation	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
BitClout	B-Application
was	O
not	O
originally	O
intended	O
to	O
launch	O
until	O
mid-2021	O
,	O
its	O
development	O
was	O
sped	O
up	O
after	O
"	O
zeitgeist	O
about	O
decentralized	O
social	O
media	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
this	O
news	O
about	O
GameStop	O
that	O
ignited	O
a	O
trend	O
towards	O
investing	O
being	O
a	O
more	O
social	O
thing	O
"	O
in	O
January	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BitClout	B-Application
's	O
first	O
block	O
was	O
mined	O
on	O
18	O
January	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early	O
March	O
2021	O
,	O
about	O
fifty	O
investors	O
received	O
links	O
to	O
a	O
password-protected	O
website	O
with	O
the	O
BitClout	B-Application
white	O
paper	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
24	O
March	O
2021	O
,	O
BitClout	B-Application
launched	O
out	O
of	O
private	O
beta	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
12	O
June	O
2021	O
,	O
the	O
supply	O
of	O
BitClout	B-Application
was	O
capped	O
at	O
around	O
11	O
million	O
coins	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
18	O
July	O
2021	O
,	O
BitClout	B-Application
added	O
the	O
ability	O
for	O
users	O
to	O
mint	O
and	O
purchase	O
NFTs	O
within	O
the	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
21	O
September	O
2021	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
revealed	O
that	O
BitClout	B-Application
was	O
a	O
prototype	O
built	O
on	O
DeSo	B-Application
,	O
short	O
for	O
"	O
Decentralized	O
Social	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Bitclout	B-Application
project	O
raised	O
$200M	O
in	O
funding	O
,	O
which	O
went	O
to	O
setting	O
up	O
the	O
DeSo	B-Application
Foundation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BitClout	B-Application
is	O
a	O
social	O
media	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
users	O
can	O
post	O
short-form	O
writings	O
and	O
photos	O
(	O
similarly	O
to	O
Twitter	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
launch	O
time	O
,	O
BitClout	B-Application
scraped	B-Application
15,000	O
profiles	O
of	O
celebrities	O
from	O
Twitter	B-Application
to	O
create	O
"	O
reserved	O
"	O
accounts	O
in	O
their	O
names	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BitClout	B-Application
uses	O
proof	O
of	O
work	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
planning	O
to	O
switch	O
to	O
proof	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
stake	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
BitClout	B-Application
's	O
development	O
team	O
made	O
concerted	O
efforts	O
to	O
remain	O
pseudonymous	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
its	O
initial	O
launch	O
,	O
BitClout	B-Application
could	O
not	O
be	O
independently	O
mined	O
and	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
was	O
not	O
published	O
,	O
leading	O
to	O
claims	O
of	O
decentralization	O
being	O
disputed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
BitClout	B-Application
coins	O
could	O
only	O
be	O
bought	O
with	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
,	O
but	O
could	O
not	O
be	O
sold	O
on	O
the	O
platform	O
;	O
users	O
could	O
only	O
sell	O
on	O
sites	O
like	O
Discord	O
servers	O
or	O
Twitter	B-Application
threads	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
on	O
18	O
May	O
2021	O
,	O
diamondhands	O
announced	O
that	O
100%	O
of	O
the	O
BitClout	B-Application
code	O
went	O
public	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
code	O
for	O
BitClout.com	O
became	O
available	O
on	O
GitHub	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
people	O
with	O
reserved	O
accounts	O
have	O
actively	O
tried	O
to	O
distance	O
themselves	O
from	O
the	O
BitClout	B-Application
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
sent	O
Nader	O
al-Naji	O
,	O
the	O
presumed	O
leader	O
of	O
the	O
BitClout	B-Application
platform	O
,	O
a	O
cease-and-desist	O
letter	O
,	O
demanding	O
the	O
removal	O
of	O
Brandon	O
Curtis	O
's	O
account	O
and	O
alleging	O
that	O
BitClout	B-Application
violated	O
sections	O
1798	O
and	O
3344	O
of	O
the	O
California	O
Civil	O
Code	O
by	O
using	O
Curtis	O
's	O
name	O
and	O
likeness	O
without	O
his	O
consent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Curtis	O
also	O
tweeted	O
,	O
"	O
Adopting	O
Bitcoin	B-Protocol
's	O
aesthetic	O
to	O
raise	O
VC	O
funding	O
to	O
carry	O
out	O
unethical	O
and	O
blatantly	O
illegal	O
schemes	O
like	O
BitClout	B-Application
:	O
not	O
cool	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
single	O
bitcoin	B-Protocol
wallet	O
related	O
to	O
BitClout	B-Application
received	O
more	O
than	O
$165M	O
worth	O
of	O
deposits	O
.	O
</s>
