BlueSky wants you to trust them, but they raised $100 million from a crypto fund almost a YEAR AGO and didn't tell anyone.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/19/bluesky-announces-100m-series-b-after-ceo-transition/

Bluesky announces $100M Series B after CEO transition | TechCrunch

The additional funds have been used to scale Bluesky's team, while the company continues to develop Bluesky's app and the underlying ATProto that powers it.

TechCrunch

@dangillmor you can't be a profitable investment without some sort of user exploitation - adverts, tracking, data mining

BSky is just a Meta waiting game

@MatWright @dangillmor

Maybe try to pump it up and sell it for billions before the next presidential election. They're harvesting data like crazy.

@dangillmor

I worked for Bain Capital once. This doesn't suprise me at all.

@dangillmor well they're a company they have customer relationship with customers not non plutonic relationships
@dangillmor bain are on the BDS boycott list for funding Israeli defence companies. So will users who do not support Israel's actions close their accounts...?
@dangillmor I don't see how "they secretly took $100M from crypto grifters 12 months ago" is any more damning than "they publicly took $14M from crypto grifters 17 months ago" but if it gets a new batch of people to realize that they have been telling you who they are and you should believe them, I'll take it. https://jwz.org/b/ykbY
Bluesky now owned by crypto-grifters

My "we will not hyperfinancialize the social experience through tokens, crypto trading or NFTs" t-shirt has people asking a lot of questions already answered by my t-shirt. No not that crypto-grifter. These are different crypto-grifters: We're excited to announce that we've raised a $15 million Series A financing led by Blockchain Capital [...] This does not change the fact that the Bluesky ...

@jwz @dangillmor

that graphic has intriguing choices
* that the crypto grifter is wearing a wedding ring
* that the fists are upside down on the steering wheel; that is a really really uncomfortable position to hold

@benh

You must be new here. (Where “here” is “the internet.

@jwz @dangillmor

@benh bless you so much. Please just mute notifications and walk away from this thread

@benh

It's not a steering wheel. GOATSE was an early internet meme of a man reaching back and stretching his butthole wide open. Consider it lucky that you learned about it this way.

@killick

ah like the Nokia NGage.

had not pattern matched that, obvs

@jwz @dangillmor I'm thinking any "social" software that isn't open source and distributed can never really be trusted.
@dangillmor BSky is a closet fascist organization
@dangillmor It's a good thing Graber stepped down then. If we asked her what's up, we'll likely just get "WAFFLES!" from her anyway.

@dangillmor explanation from Mike Masnick who sits on the Bluesky board: "Team was just crazy busy and overwhelmed and timing of announcement just kept slipping."

🔗 : https://bsky.app/profile/masnick.com/post/3mhgso7vjjs2n

I have no words.

@_elena wow, that is just some crazy busy bullshit
@mariafarrell right? It would have been better to say nothing at all, rather than "we were too busy"
@_elena @dangillmor I see he's been practicing his Elon style "I think this is what super geniuses talk like" clipped sentence writing

@dangillmor Whelp, Bluesky is about to go down the shitter then.

The money bros destroy everything they touch.

@dangillmor no thanks too many algorithms.. I love Fediverse/Mastodon..
@dangillmor From the land we fled. Twitter owned in part by russians oligarchs. https://www.dw.com/en/what-do-xs-alleged-ties-to-russian-oligarchs-mean-for-musk/a-70088598
What X's alleged ties to Russian oligarchs mean for Musk

A US court filing has forced X owner Elon Musk to reveal the identities of the social media platform's investors. The move could have far-reaching repercussions.

Deutsche Welle
@swggrkllr3rd @blogdiva @dangillmor and the saudis, and just probably some shitty israelis too. Only the worst humans want anything to do with twitter.
@dangillmor
"Moving from x to bluesky" = "Moving from this shitty tech bro to that shitty tech bro.

@dangillmor
i found this:
https://www.blockchaincapital.com/

i doesn't say percentages of those companies.

Blockchain Capital

Partners to crypto builders since 2013.

@dangillmor Bluesky can go fuck itself. Same shitbag who started Twitter and sucks up to Nazis started that cesspool. No thank you. #GetFucked #Bluesky
@dangillmor It’s the inevitability of things like this that makes the decision to stay away from corporate monoliths so much easier.

@dangillmor
I'm missing something, I guess.

I trust BlueSky to the same extent that I trust my landline. It is a medium of communication.

So I know that's not your point.

I'm often considered elderly, possibly because of age.
What am I missing?

@dangillmor I’m missing the nuance here. Why is everyone upset? I’m not saying there isn’t a reason to be so, just legit don’t understand.

@dangillmor Luckily crypto has always proven to be trustful and not scammy at all!

😆

@dangillmor sounds iffy as fuck to raise that amount of money and be quiet.

@dangillmor What's frustrating is that all the signs were there *long before* this slip.

Bluesky isn't a nonprofit, it's a PBC — a public benefit corporation — and the intended benefits to the public aren't wholly transparent.

It had at least two rounds of financing between Feb 2023 and Nov 2024 from venture capital firms. This was financing, not donations or contributions — it must be returned with interest or ownership, and it's not been clear which.

And now Masnick is compromised by this.

@dangillmor - thank you for the info. Was not aware. Cancelled my account.
It's the lack of transparency that boddered me the most. Not trustworthy anymore when they act like that.
@dangillmor Bluesky is just the next Twitter and they’ll end up being owned by an Oligarch.
@dangillmor Worthless app, I never even tried to make an account. The rollout took ages with the stupid invite-only codes, and then as soon as it was finally up it immediately and predictably just turned into X for Blue MAGA and the most insufferable liberal pedants on the planet. I'm not signing up for ANY new social media platforms until further notice.
@dangillmor I have posted TechCrunch link in BlueSky yesterday. For some reason, which is open to debate, the URL I posted got mangled in that post 🤦