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Psychology

Information Cascade

Locally rational following of predecessors that produces globally inefficient herd outcomes (Bikhchandani, Hirshleifer & Welch, 1992). Telegram pump groups are information cascade machines — synchronized buys feel like consensus but are a single biased signal echoed through hundreds of pings.

See also
Psychology FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) Apprehension that others are having rewarding experiences from which one is absent (Przybylski et al., 2013). In memecoins, amplified by the asymmetric salience of winner posts versus loser silence. The visible distribution of outcomes is severely skewed toward winners even when the actual distribution is overwhelmingly losses. → Culture Parasocial Relationship A one-sided perceived intimacy with a media persona (Horton and Wohl, 1956). In CT: the follower experiences a relationship; the KOL operates a broadcast. The parasocial bond makes followers buy faster (trust collapses the deliberation window), hold longer, and refuse counter-evidence. → Culture KOL Pod A private group chat where multiple KOLs coordinate buys and posts to synchronize price and social signals. Documented in ZachXBT's 2025 investigations. Produces synchronized activity that retail reads as independent consensus — it is a single signal run through multiple broadcast channels. →
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