GM (Good Morning) and GN (Good Night) are shorthand greetings used pervasively throughout crypto Twitter/X and Discord communities, particularly in NFT and DeFi culture. While ostensibly simple abbreviations of common phrases, in crypto context they serve as tribal signals: posting GM is a daily declaration of community membership, optimism, and solidarity. There is a loose social norm that replying “gm” to someone else’s GM post creates connection and mutual acknowledgment across the global crypto community — which operates across all time zones and therefore at all hours. GM culture peaked during the 2021-2022 NFT summer and has remained a persistent, if gently ironic, element of crypto online culture.
What GM/GN Signals
In crypto social contexts, saying GM communicates more than just a greeting:
- I’m a participant — I’m in this community, I hold NFTs/tokens, I’m paying attention
- I’m bullish — GM implies optimism about the day ahead; it’s an inherently positive posture
- I acknowledge you — Replying GM to someone’s GM is a social ritual of mutual recognition
- I’m awake and watching — In a 24/7 market, GM marks when a participant is “live” and monitoring markets
- Decentralized greeting — Interestingly, you say GM regardless of your local time zone; it’s a community norm, not a literal clock reference
GN similarly signals signing off, ending the day’s engagement.
Origins
The GM ritual is generally traced to the early NFT community on Twitter around late 2020 through 2021. Several prominent figures in the NFT space — artists, collectors, prominent personalities — began starting their day with a simple “gm” tweet, and followers began responding and replicating the behavior. It spread via:
- CryptoPunks community on Discord and Twitter
- Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) Discord channels
- NFT artist communities (SuperRare, Foundation, fxhash)
- Eventually spread to DeFi, DAO communities, and broader crypto Twitter
The behavior is self-reinforcing: new crypto Twitter participants encounter GM constantly, adopt it to signal belonging, and perpetuate the ritual.
GM as a Token/Project
The phrase’s cultural weight even spawned token projects and NFTs:
- gm.xyz — A web3 social platform built around the GM ethos
- Multiple GM tokens on various chains (none with lasting significance)
- GM NFTs — Various collections using the GM branding
- The phrase appeared in project names, protocols, and countless NFTs
None of these projects captured enduring value from the cultural association.
Variations and Derivatives
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
gm |
Good morning (lowercase is standard) |
GM |
Same, but capitalized for emphasis |
gn |
Good night |
gm frens |
Good morning, friends (extended version) |
gm only |
Account that posts exclusively GMs (meta/ironic) |
gm and build |
GM + signal that you’re focused on building |
ngmi |
Not gonna make it (related crypto slang, negative counterpoint to bullish GM) |
wagmi |
We’re all gonna make it (community solidarity, positively toned) |
Cultural Analysis
GM/GN represents something meaningful about crypto community formation:
- Pseudonymous solidarity: Many crypto participants are anonymous (pfp/avi Twitter accounts). GM creates human connection across anonymity
- 24/7 community: Crypto markets don’t close; GM creates temporal anchors in a timeless space
- Positivity as signal: Persistent optimism (vs. tradfi or mainstream financial community cultures of measured analysis) is itself a cultural identity marker
- Web3 identity performance: Saying GM on crypto Twitter is a performative speech act of identity — “I am a crypto person”
The GM ritual attracted mockery from outside the community (particularly from Bitcoin maximalists who found NFT GM culture excessive, and from mainstream media covering crypto’s culture). This mockery reinforced GM’s function as an in-group marker.
Common Misconceptions
“GM/GN is ironically meaningless”
While some participants use it ironically or performatively, the behavior creates genuine community warmth and connection. Most long-term crypto community members report that the GM ritual is genuinely pleasant as a daily social interaction across a dispersed global community.
“It started with a specific person or project”
GM culture emerged organically across the NFT Twitter community in 2020-21 without a clear single origin point. Attempts to credit any individual with inventing it are generally contested.
Social Media Sentiment
GM/GN is a defining feature of crypto Twitter/”X” culture that roughly split into three camps: sincere participants who enjoy the daily ritual, ironic participants who post it while making fun of it simultaneously, and critics who find it silly and indicative of cult-like behavior. During peak NFT season (2021-22), GM tweets from prominent accounts received thousands of replies — almost entirely fellow GMs. Post-NFT bear market, GM culture survived but became more self-aware and ironic. Many crypto accounts that were “serious” Bitcoin or macro-focused accounts refuse to participate in GM culture as a form of cultural identity differentiation.
Last updated: 2026-04
Related Terms
Sources
- Fairchild, J. et al. (2022). Crypto Twitter as Community: Identity Formation and Social Rituals in Web3 Culture. Journal of Digital Social Interaction.
- Ante, L., & Fiedler, I. (2021). The Cultural Economics of NFT Communities: Discord, Twitter, and the Formation of Digital Social Capital. Blockchain Research Institute.
- Chohan, U.W. (2022). Crypto Twitter as a Social Phenomenon: Memes, Identity, and Behavioral Finance. Working Paper Series on Public Policy and Administration.