Molly White
Born 1993 · Age 32
American software engineer, Wikipedia editor (GorillaWarfare), and prominent critic of cryptocurrency and Web3. Creator of Web3 Is Going Just Great and Follow the Crypto; affiliate at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center; former HubSpot engineer.
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Life & Career Timeline
Began editing Wikipedia
Started editing Wikipedia at age 13 under the username 'GorillaWarfare'.
Became a Wikipedia administrator (in high school)
Promoted to Wikipedia site administrator while still in high school.
Interned at NASA-funded University of Maine lab
Internship researching lunar habitat module sensors at a University of Maine lab funded by NASA while attending Camden Hills Regional High School.
High school graduation (Camden Hills Regional High School)
Graduated from Camden Hills Regional High School (approximate year based on typical timeline).
Began undergraduate studies at Northeastern University
Enrolled in Northeastern University's computer science program (estimated start year leading to 2016 graduation).
Co-op at HubSpot (first)
Participated in a Northeastern co-op with marketing software company HubSpot (first of two co-ops during undergrad).
Second Northeastern co-op at HubSpot
Completed a second co-op placement at HubSpot while an undergraduate student.
Served on English Wikipedia Arbitration Committee (three terms / six years total)
Served multiple terms (three terms referenced) and in total six years on Wikipedia's Arbitration Committee resolving editor disputes (dates span multiple years prior to 2022).
Graduated Northeastern University (B.S. Computer Science)
Earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from Northeastern University.
Wikimedia CEO cites her harassment case in 2016 speech
Katherine Maher referenced White's harassment experience in a 2016 speech about editor harassment.
Joined HubSpot as a software engineer
After graduation, continued at HubSpot as a full-time software engineer.
Harassment escalated after editing incels/controversial topics
Online harassment, doxxing, and threats increased when she began editing articles on incels and other contentious topics.
Received mainstream coverage for January 6 article editing
Received mainstream news coverage for her work editing the Wikipedia article about the January 6 Capitol attack.
Started 'Citation Needed' newsletter
Began or expanded an independent newsletter covering crypto and trending technology topics (Citation Needed).
Launched 'Web3 Is Going Just Great' website
Created a website documenting scams, failures, and abuses in cryptocurrency and Web3 to provide a running tally and case timeline.
Left public-facing software engineering role to focus on advocacy and writing
After resigning from HubSpot in May 2022, she focused on her independent writing, research, media appearances and advising policymakers.
Twitter thread on 'Cryptoland' went viral
A critical Twitter thread that exposed flaws in the proposed project Cryptoland went viral and drew ridicule toward the project.
Web3 site traffic reached tens of thousands monthly
Web3 Is Going Just Great grew quickly via Hacker News, Reddit and press, reportedly reaching 60,000–100,000 monthly visitors by the end of the year.
Counseled Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on crypto legislation
Provided counsel to U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse regarding proposed legislation to regulate crypto (mid-2022 engagement).
Guest lectures at top universities
Guest lectured and appeared at universities including Harvard, MIT, and Stanford on Web3 and related topics (dates across 2022–2023).
Major media bylines and guest pieces
Wrote or had bylines/appearances in The New York Times, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Bloomberg Businessweek and other outlets documenting crypto failures and criticism.
Public opposition to proposed bipartisan crypto regulatory bill
Publicly opposed the Gillibrand–Lummis crypto regulatory proposal for being too lenient and argued for SEC oversight instead of the CFTC.
Described as 'unofficial Web3 ombudsperson'
The Information and other outlets described White as an 'unofficial Web3 ombudsperson' due to frequent fact-checking and documenting failures in the crypto industry.
Documented dollar losses from crypto failures on site
Web3 Is Going Just Great included a running total of investor losses from crypto projects; the site published many cases not covered by mainstream press.
100,000+ Wikipedia edits milestone
By early 2022 she had made over 100,000 edits to Wikipedia under the username GorillaWarfare.
Argued against mainstreaming crypto; media coverage grows
Media profiles (The Verge, The Information, Washington Post) ran pieces profiling her as a leading Web3 critic.
Proposed Wikimedia stop accepting cryptocurrency donations
Proposed that the Wikimedia Foundation cease collecting cryptocurrency donations due to ethical and abuse concerns.
Resigned from HubSpot to recover from burnout
Left her software engineering role at HubSpot in May 2022 after approximately six years with the company.
Wikimedia Foundation adopted crypto-donation ban
Following a community vote with majority support, the Wikimedia Foundation adopted her proposal to stop accepting crypto donations (May 2022).
Signed letter urging federal crypto regulation
Signed a June 2022 letter to the U.S. Congress with 25 technologists urging regulation of the crypto industry.
Named to Prospect's 'World's Top Thinkers' list
Recognized among Prospect magazine's list of the world's top thinkers (July 2022).
Became an affiliate at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center
Listed as an affiliate of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society as of late 2022.
Forbes '30 Under 30' in Social Media (2023 list)
Named to Forbes '30 Under 30' (Social Media) for the class of 2023 (announcement late 2022).
SXSW talk on AI hype and blockchain parallels
Spoke at South by Southwest (March 2023) arguing that AI hype resembled earlier blockchain hype.
Launched/expanded 'Follow the Crypto' political-donations tracking
Follow the Crypto tracked cryptocurrency industry political donations in 2024; White is associated with the project documenting industry political spending.
Public social media anecdote: childhood book
Posted on Bluesky about a book she made aged five—used as a humanizing anecdote in her public profile.
Filed FEC campaign finance complaint against Coinbase
With Public Citizen, filed a Federal Election Commission complaint in August 2024 alleging a $25M Coinbase donation to a super PAC violated rules on federal contractors.
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