Ron Branstetter didn’t expect to profit from crypto. The Chesterfield father of two had always put his faith in physical capital, like gold and silver, which he would talk about daily on his YouTube channel, Rons Basement.
“I had always referred to crypto — and the US dollar — as being unicorn fart dust,” he said.
But as the crypto market rose over the years, he became curious enough to experiment in the space. After watching a short how-to video, he got a crypto wallet, invested $100 and developed a new memecoin he named “Unicorn Fart Dust.” He posted about his “experiment” on YouTube, and 48 hours later, Unicorn Fart Dust reached a $240 million market cap.
“I was in shock,” he said. “I still call it, 12 weeks later, one of the most positive, traumatic experiences that I've had in my life.”
Traumatic, Branstetter said, because a few weeks in, his phone-based “hot wallet” — where his Unicorn Fart Dust holdings were stored— was hacked.
“In a matter of minutes — and at the time it was worth a million dollars — they were able to drain all the crypto that I had,” he said.
What happened next surprised Branstetter nearly as much as Unicorn Fart Dust’s early success: Tens of thousands of Unicorn Fart Dust holders from around the world chipped in to replace what he — and indirectly, his family — had lost.
“For them to do that for us was a very powerful statement, and really kind of unheard of in the world in general,” he said. “I think it's a testament to the strength of the UFD community.”
Tara Rogers said she’s grateful to have found the Unicorn Fart Dust community. The Australian teacher and her husband were about to leave crypto due to negative experiences with scams and “rug pulls” — which refers to when developers attract investor money and suddenly abandon the project, leaving the cryptocurrency worthless. But then, they came across Unicorn Fart Dust and Branstetter’s YouTube channel.
“We have heavily invested because we believe in his genuine approach and his honesty. It’s something that the [crypto] space desperately needs,” she said. “We are just like the rest of the community, where we are genuine people looking for really positive investments.”
Craig Hobson of Chicago was intimidated by crypto for some time.
“Ethereum, XRP, Solana — how am I supposed to understand all of this stuff?” he said. “And then enter Basement Ron. I can relate to this guy; he's just learning all this too. Ron is trustworthy.”
There are more than 40,000 Unicorn Fart Dust holders. It’s an active online community of fans across the world who have named themselves “dusters.” They connect with each other by creating NFTs, memes, videos, music and artwork.
“We have a DJ who's doing live shows that thousands of people are coming to,” Branstetter said. “Because it's such a decentralized organization, or decentralized community, people are finding different ways to contribute.”
Today, the Unicorn Fart Dust token is currently worth $60 million. Branstetter owns .6% of it, and while he could cash out at any time, he has no plans to sell his tokens. He said he’s discovered that the true value of his memecoin is in the community that people have created around it.
“There's an epidemic of loneliness in the world right now, an epidemic of isolation, and if this community gives people a place where they're accepted [and] where they belong — that creates value,” he said.
Unicorn Fart Dust holders interact primarily on X, where they frequently quote the memecoin’s mantra: “Good attracts good.”
Branstetter is glad the phrase caught on.
“This could be a real powerful movement,” he said. “It's humbling to see what community members are doing throughout the world.”
For more on Unicorn Fart Dust and Ron Branstetter’s experience shifting his YouTube channel from gold and silver to crypto, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
