Why world’s largest crypto exchange has turned to wordless TikTok star Khaby Lame to show how crypto operates

Italian-Senegalese TikTok star Khaby Lame has been signed by Binance, the world’s largest platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies, as a brand ambassador. He is expected to use his signature style to tackle some of the misperceptions around Web3 and also partner on exclusive NFT collections with Binance.

“I consider my followers as my family, and I am always looking for new challenges and interesting content to share with them. I’ve been curious about web3 for some time, and jumped at the chance to partner with a leader like Binance because it aligns perfectly with what I usually do: make complex stuff easy and fun for everyone!” Lame said in a statement.

Lame rose to fame during the pandemic for his spin on life hack videos, demonstrating a more straightforward, usually obvious, way to perform the task without saying a word.

“Khaby has become a cultural icon and one of the most entertaining creators globally. We love his charm and sense of humour, and think it will bring relevance and relatability as we scale Web3 adoption,” said James Rothwell, Binance Global Vice President of Marketing. “With so much nuance around Web3 and misinformation in the world, it was a perfect match to have Khaby on board to help debunk some of the myths around this space.”

Lame is currently the most followed person on TikTok with over 145 million followers. He started off as an industrial worker in Chivasso, Northern Italy. However, when COVID-19 struck, he became one of the many people who got laid off worldwide as a result of the impact of the contagion on businesses and the global economy.

The Senegalese moved from his country of origin to Italy when he was only one year old. Now 22, Lame speaks Italian, but he is not recognized as an Italian in Italy despite living in the country from age one and attending Italian schools.

In an interview with the New York Times, Lame revealed his successful social media career started when he spent several hours posting comedy clips on TikTok and the clips soon went viral. His most-watched video has over 158 million views.

The clip mocks a fellow TikToker who cut himself free from a car door shearing through his T-shirt. Lame makes the same video but instead of reaching for scissors to cut himself free, he simply opens the door to free himself and shrugs.

According to the New York Times, Lame’s earliest posts were in Italian although he sometimes spoke his native language. “But it was the wordless, expressive reaction clips — poking fun at forks transformed into spoons with tape or defending the sanctity of Italian pizza from a video that proposes Sour Patch Kids toppings — that have catapulted Mr Lame to international stardom,” according to the New York Times.

His rise on the social media platform has been entirely organic and his videos lack professional touch compared to other famous TikTok stars, some of whom have been approached by Hollywood. His content turns to mock or debunks overproduced content across multiple social media platforms.

“He almost represents this authenticity overproduction. I think that’s very appealing at scale to people, this feeling of someone not trying too hard, it’s something that feels authentic,” Samir Chaudry, a founder of The Publish Press, told the New York Times. The Publish Press focuses on covering the creator economy.

Lame told the New York Times that the success of his videos was due to the fact that he speaks a “global language.” “It’s my face and my expressions which make people laugh,” he added. According to him, he has a huge following in Brazil, the United States, and Senegal.