Crypto glossary
Shill (shilling)
A shill is someone who promotes a crypto token to others, often without disclosing that they hold it or are paid to do so, in order to push its price up.
Shilling means talking up a coin or project to attract buyers. It ranges from enthusiastic holders praising their own bags on social media to paid influencers, bot networks and coordinated groups that post the same message across forums, Telegram and X. The defining feature is that the promoter benefits if others buy.
Paid promotion without disclosure has led to enforcement actions: US regulators have fined celebrities who promoted tokens without revealing payments, and several countries now require clear advertising labels on crypto promotions. Shilling is also a standard step in pump-and-dump schemes, where insiders accumulate a token, promote it heavily and sell into the demand they create.
When a token is being pushed everywhere at once, it is worth asking who gains from the attention. Checking wallet distribution, unlock schedules and whether the promoter discloses holdings helps separate genuine interest from a campaign aimed at finding buyers.
Example
An influencer who receives 2% of a new token's supply and then tells 500,000 followers it is the next big thing, without mentioning the allocation, is shilling.
