Bitconnect Carlos — Carlos Matos shouting into a raised microphone on stage at the BitConnect event

Bitconnect Carlos

2017viral videoclassic

Published August 16, 2026

Bitconnect Carlos is the nickname for Carlos Matos, a New York investor whose screaming, arm-pumping testimonial at BitConnect's 2017 annual conference turned into one of the most-remixed videos in crypto history. The clip became a running joke after BitConnect collapsed weeks later as a Ponzi scheme.

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Overview

Bitconnect Carlos is the nickname the internet gave Carlos Matos, an American investor who delivered a wildly energetic testimonial at cryptocurrency exchange BitConnect's first annual conference in Thailand1. His shouting, fist-pumping performance, punctuated by drawn-out yells of "BitConnect!" and "Wasa wasa wasaaaap," turned him into one of the most quoted figures in crypto3.

The clip lands harder in hindsight. BitConnect was later exposed as a Ponzi scheme and shut down its lending platform in January 2018, wiping out huge sums for retail investors2. Matos, who was just an on-stage promoter rather than a company executive, ended up as the accidental face of the whole collapse, which is exactly why the remixes kept coming3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Live event (Pattaya, Thailand) / YouTube (viral spread)
Creator
Carlos Matos
Date
2017

On October 28th, 2017, BitConnect held its first annual ceremony in Pattaya, Thailand2. Carlos Matos, an investor from New York, took the stage and gave a testimonial so over-the-top that the audience seemed unsure whether to cheer or laugh along3. Footage from the event was uploaded to YouTube within days under the title "Carlos From Ny, Amazing Show, Bitconnect Annual Ceremony 28/10/2017," which is the source clip every later remix draws from1.

How It Spread

Three days after the conference, on November 1st, 2017, YouTuber CryptoSann posted a remix that dropped Matos's speech into a scene from the 1987 film Predator, pulling over 18,000 views in four months3. The video traveled inside crypto circles for weeks before jumping to a wider audience.

The breakout moment came on January 23rd, 2018, when h3h3productions featured the speech in a video titled "How To Lose Your Life's Savings w Cryptocurrency," which pulled more than 4.3 million views in two months3. A day later, YouTuber Lil Jack set clips of BitConnect's collapsing share price to the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme, hitting 722,000 views inside a month3. On January 30th, 2018, Dylan Locke uploaded an EDM remix of the Matos speech that racked up 470,000 views over the same window3.

BitConnect suspended its lending and exchange platforms in mid-January 2018, days before the h3h3 video dropped, which is why the meme spiked hardest during the collapse2. Carlos Matos went from crypto sales pitch to shorthand for the entire BitConnect Ponzi story3.

How to Use This Meme

People typically use Bitconnect Carlos clips or audio to mock crypto hype cycles, especially when a new token, exchange, or trading strategy starts looking too good to be true. Common conventions include splicing his "BitConnect!" scream over footage of the latest crypto crash, or captioning stills of Matos mid-yell with quotes from unrelated investment pitches3.

Frequently Asked Questions