Hall of Flame – Cointelegraph Magazine

Coin Stories host Natalie Brunell — who has 302,600 followers on Twitter — recalls feeling very tense before meeting with Salvadoran President and Bitcoin maximalist Nayib Bukele in March 2022.

“It was very formal, there were guards outside his office. What is funny is it felt very formal outside of his actual office. Then you walk in, and he’s very warm, very gracious and very humble,” she says.

Brunell was blown away by Bukele’s knowledge of Bitcoin.

“He was very educated and well-read on the topic of Bitcoin and economic theory, and he seemed to genuinely want positive change for his country through expanding monetary freedom.”

Brunell, who is also the host of the Hard Money show, took an unconventional approach to get the meeting, relying on the power of memes suggesting Bitcoiners will all end up working at McDonald’s every time the price goes down — so she put out a call on Twitter asking which McDonald’s she could find Bukele at.

Surprisingly, it worked out very well.

Brunell used to work as an investigative journalist covering politics, particularly “public corruption and public officials engaging in things like bribery and manipulation.” But as Bitcoin is trustless, she points out there’s no actual need to trust politicians who embrace it.

“I’m naturally skeptical of politicians, especially because of my news background. […] I think it’s a very powerful statement that he’s chosen to make sure it’s legal tender and protected in El Salvador.”

Despite her best efforts, Brunell’s attempt to contact ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood using the same method proved to be unsuccessful in June.

What led to Twitter fame?

Brunell never imagined that her follower count would blow up in the way that it has.

“I think the biggest shock, honestly, was when I reached 100,000 followers because I didn’t intend for the Bitcoin and the podcast work to be my full-time job.”

She reckons she was so caught up in her obsession with Bitcoin that when her Twitter follower count reached six figures, it caught her by surprise.

“I’m really passionate about Bitcoin, and I love teaching people about Bitcoin, and I love interviewing people about the topic, and I didn’t know what would happen. So when that following was reached, I was really grateful.”

What type of content can I expect?

The majority of her content is “a lot about Bitcoin.”

Whether she is dishing out her opinions on the latest developments, sharing video interviews of cool people in the space, or calling on prominent Bitcoiners to join her on her podcast, Brunell’s Twitter is a one-stop shop for all things Bitcoin.

However, there’s a wholesome vibe to her Twitter content that’s missing on some of the other orange-pilled accounts.

“I try to keep it real and try to keep it positive, and I try to talk about the things that can really be fixed in our society. And a lot of it can be fixed with Bitcoin.”

What content do you enjoy on Twitter?

Brunell says that she “loves” the Twitter content from “prominent Bitcoiners” such as MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, economist Lyn Alden, Bitcoin advocate Jeff Booth and Bitcoin Fundamentals host Preston Pysh.

“They are generous with their knowledge, and I’m grateful to learn from them,” she says.

“I am a fan of Bitcoin memes, and I love how genuinely clever some accounts are in this space,” she says.

Price predictions?

Brunell predicts that Bitcoin will face “a lot of headwinds” over the next six to 12 months, but believes it will “hit six figures” and new all-time highs within the next “24 months.”

While many cannot wait for the return of the bull market, Brunell finds herself in a slightly different boat.

“I don’t want Bitcoin to hit an ATH anytime soon because I didn’t start stacking until 2017 and I always want to stack more.”

However, she is pretty excited about the recent developments with Bitcoin ETFs. 

“What is different this time is the entities applying for the ETFs are not crypto-native companies, but rather respected institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity that are deeply ingrained into the traditional financial system.”

“This could create a major on-ramp for institutions and retail investors, allowing them to easily gain exposure to Bitcoin,” Brunell says.