- Youtuber MrBeast accused of defrauding investors.
- Debate on influencer ethics reignites.
- Crypto regulations need strengthening.
The cryptocurrency community has been rocked by recent allegations against Jimmy Donaldson, popularly known as MrBeast. The YouTuber has been accused by SomaXBT, a cryptocurrency researcher, of making significant profits through low-cap schemes. The allegations suggest that MrBeast manipulated the market by promoting several Initial Dex Offerings (IDOs) such as SuperFarm ($SUPER), Polychain Monsters ($PMON) and SPLYT ($SHOPX), and then selling these tokens at their peak value, resulting in steep losses for less experienced investors.
According to information obtained through data from Arkham Intelligence and initially published by Cryptonews, MrBeast is accused of profiting more than $10 million from these questionable practices. Reports indicate that the YouTuber initially invested $100.000 in SuperFarm, receiving one million tokens in return. Following a sharp increase in value, these tokens were transferred to another wallet and sold in batches, totaling a profit of approximately $9 million from this project alone.
1/ An investigation into @MrBeast ,how he apparently made $10M+ by backing low-cap IDO crypto tokens promoted by influencers like Lark Davis, CryptoBanter, KSI, and others. Many of these projects are now down over 90%, with some rebranding after major losses.
let's dive in. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/NR9dq9ZnD2
— SomaXBT (@somaxbt) October 11, 2024
Similarly, involvement with Polychain Monsters and SPLYT has also resulted in considerable profits, with MrBeast reportedly earning $1,3 million and $765.000, respectively. The suspicious activities extend to the STAK token, where profits amounted to $1,25 million.
These events shed light on the ethical concerns surrounding the role of influencers in the cryptocurrency market, as highlighted by SomaXBT. The researcher points to the problematic nature of pump-and-dump schemes, where public figures use their influence to promote digital assets and later sell them at inflated prices, thus harming investors who got in on the hype.