Ben Armstrong, formerly BitBoy, has once again proven that a little manufactured drama goes a long way after a video in which he simultaneously claims that he’s leaving crypto YouTube — while also confirming that he’ll continue to upload videos — racked up nearly 80,000 views in a single day.

In the recently uploaded clip, titled ‘I’m Retiring From Crypto YouTube,’ Armstrong claims that he’s probably not going to be doing a crypto livestream anymore. The statement, of course, comes with several caveats.

For starters, given his use of the word ‘probably,’ there’s a chance that he’ll return to do livestreams sometime in the future. But even if he doesn’t, the title of the video is more than a little misleading given that he also clarifies that he’d still be uploading to his YouTube channel. Indeed, toward the end he specifies that he’ll “still have three videos a day, more videos coming.”

During the video, Armstrong appears to be holding back tears as he describes how he’s “paying lawyers $100,000 a month” and that the show costs “$25,000 a week” to produce. It’s unclear if those numbers are accurate, but based on his most recent uploads which take place in a much smaller, poorly lit, closet-like space, his budget has been cut back drastically.

Read more: BitBoy tags wife and mistress in divorce tweet

More of the same from BitBoy

This isn’t the first time Armstrong has ramped up the on-camera drama.

The attention-hungry YouTuber recorded himself last year complaining about being unable to get back the Lamborghini that had been purchased for the company he helped start (but was later fired from). He received $80,000 worth of cryptocurrency donations to pursue a case against the firm.

Later in the year, after a very public affair and divorce, Armstrong took to live-streaming again, this time with his mistress hidden in the back of an SUV, carrying a handgun, and on his way to confront a business associate. He was later arrested and spent the night in county jail.

The social media influencer also bought into a token of his own last year — a coin which has seen its value, trade volume, and interest plummet since it was created.

“You know,” Armstrong says at the end of his most recent video, “the show is really all I have now. I’ve lost everything.”

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In a true show of character, Ben Armstrong, formerly known as BitBoy, has tagged both his wife and mistress in a tweet announcing his divorce. In the thread — which was absolutely unnecessary, even for a minor public figure like Armstrong — he is apparently committed to making his personal life “less in the public eye.” Despite this, he states that his mistress, ‘Cassie,’ will be joining him regularly on his YouTube channel.

The announcement comes on the heels of a tumultuous few months for the YouTuber-turned-crypto-influencer: Armstrong was arrested in front of a former business partner’s home after showing up unhinged and armed with his mistress in tow, he lost his YouTube channel to the company he helped start, and he purchased the rights to $BEN coin which has been a spectacular failure.

Read more: BitBoy arrested and released after tracking Hit Network exec

All this without mentioning that he also accepted over $80,000 in donations from supporters because he had to give up his Lamborghini.

With divorce proceedings sure to begin soon — especially after such a loud and public announcement — it’s likely that Armstrong, who was suggesting he’d lost everything to his former employer, Hit Network, will have about half as much as he has now.

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The ongoing drama between Ben Armstrong (aka BitBoy) and his former team at Hit Network continues to devolve. Incredible claims have been leveled against both sides and now Armstrong has been arrested in Duluth, Georgia.

The influencer claims to have lost everything and had previously reached out to his audience to garner thousands of dollars in donations. His next move was to livestream himself driving to the home of the individual in possession of the Hit Network company Lamborghini that had been confiscated from him.

He was subsequently arrested for arrested for “loitering/prowling” and for “simple assault by placing another in fear.” He was released “after eight hours in the slammer” on a $2,600 bond.

Troubling details

As the stream unfolded, it became increasingly evident that there was someone there with Armstrong, namely a woman he was having an affair with. It was also revealed that he had a loaded firearm in his backseat — illegal unless he happens to have a Georgia weapons carry license.

Armstrong’s online rants also became increasingly loud, and the already out-there accusations got even wilder. They included suggestions that the “Houston Mafia” was involved in the BitBoy_Crypto YouTube channel, and the completely unhinged conspiracy that 85-year-old Maxine Waters had ordered a Fentanyl poisoning of a cryptocurrency influencer.

Unfortunately for Armstrong, during the stream, he appeared to admit to a number of additional crimes, including attempts to extort Ben dot ETH for 300 extra ETH.

Read more: BitBoy receives over $80K in donations as he complains about his Lambo

Steroid and diet pill abuse

While Hit Network executives have also alleged that Armstrong suffered from diet pill abuse and “‘roid rage” during his time with them, they also concede that he controls 67% of the company.

This being the case, whether Armstrong can be pushed out of the company he majority controls remains to be seen. However, what is apparent is that the troubled influencer could have some choppy legal waters to navigate first.

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In a video posted from his new X profile, Ben Armstrong announced that his persona, BitBoy, was dead and a new identity was born: Ben.

Armstrong had his YouTube channel, known as BitBoy Crypto, and his social media accounts taken from him by the Hit Network a couple weeks ago. Since then, the crypto influencer has admitted to “diet pill and steroid abuse” and vowed to a road to recovery and redemption.

Meanwhile, on YouTube Armstrong posted a video claiming he’d “lost everything” while wandering through a cavernous kitchen, lined with marble slabs and four different wall-mounted televisions. The shitcoin connoisseur also announces that “[Hit Network] took my Lamborghini from me because it was in the company name… they sold the Lamborghini out from under me.”

“We’re gonna get it all back,” he adds.

“Extremely humbled”

When a listener in his latest Space told Armstrong not to get rid of his Gucci tracksuits, his response was telling: “We’ll see what happens with the designer clothes, I may have to sell them all. That’s the place I’m in right now.” Why Armstrong would have to sell all his designer clothes and accessories is unclear, as no lawsuits or regulatory action have been taken against him yet.

Armstrong’s Ben coin, which is still down 87% from all-time highs, has popped 91% off its lows, and Armstrong has promised that “Going forward I have no enemies… I’m in no position to be telling people what to do.”

Read more: BitBoy’s token has cratered along with his career

Complaining about his bank from his luxury SUV, Armstrong stated that he is “feeling a lot better about the situation he is in,” because “man, these banks are screwed.”

“Blockchain is the only way we can save ourselves,” Armstrong said, but how blockchain will save Armstrong’s career is uncertain.

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Ben Armstrong (aka BitBoy’s) token $BEN has seen its price drop precipitously since drama around the creator resulted in his social media accounts and YouTube channel being taken over by Hit Network last week.

Unfortunately for Armstrong, things have shown no sign of improving and the token is still 93% off its all-time high and 55% from its launch price.

The self-proclaimed millionaire issued an embarrassing apology on September 1 through the BitBoy_Crypto YouTube channel. In the video, a teary BitBoy, joined by his wife, apologized for letting down his family and the ‘BitSquad,’ and claims he’s at rock-bottom. His wife, for her part, chips in with the odd comment on her belief in redemption and hope.

Read more: BitBoy and another less famous Ben are giving crypto a bad name

Nonsensical apology

“We’re gonna work through this,” says Armstrong about his affair and steroid and diet pill abuse, “it’s gonna be really hard.”

Unfortunately, any sympathy he might have gained is wiped away as he reverts to type with a bout of shameless self-promotion. “Nobody, probably in history, has made more millionaires than this channel made in the last bull run, and we’re gonna do it again,” he claims. “So you have to decide whether you’re for us or against us.”

He then adds, “When it comes to NFT platforms, there’s not gonna be a better platform than [my platform].”

Fall from ineptitude

While the $BEN token was birthed into the cryptocurrency industry through serial scammer Ben dot Eth, Armstrong soon took control. He has since been on a marketing campaign and has suggested that the coin will “pioneer crypto adoption” and that he’ll offer “exclusive content and private Discord groups.”

Armstrong’s quick nixing from his own business has led to speculation as to whether his involvement with meme coins has led to a significantly larger risk profile for the obnoxious content creator.

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There’s a scourge of cringe enveloping the crypto industry, and it’s not from multibillion-dollar frauds or scammers building algorithmic stablecoin Ponzi schemes: it’s all down to two dudes named Ben.

One of those Bens — Ben Armstrong, aka BitBoy — has been covered repeatedly by Protos for his antics and faux educational material, but the other Ben — Ben dot Eth — is somebody that the media seems to be intentionally steering clear of. Let’s talk about both, why they’re making waves, and how they’re both terrible for the industry.

First off, Ben dot Eth, a relatively obscure cryptocurrency and NFT proprietor, surfaced in the fetid pond of web3 scammers when he created the ‘$BEN’ token and sold it to BitBoy, a YouTube personality and longtime shill of failed and fraudulent projects.

Read more: So you don’t have to: Watching BitBoy and Trump Jr. talk about crypto

While the $BEN coin seemingly does nothing of value, at the time of writing, it’s still nearing all-time highs (perhaps because BitBoy has suggested it will be sponsored by Stake dot com, a cryptocurrency gambling website, in the future).

Besides the fact that the handover of the token between the two scammers was fraught with issues and concerns — namely that BitBoy promised not to sell any of the tokens for “at least six months” and then sold his tokens within five days of the takeover — Ben dot Eth has moved on to greener, scammier pastures: a token he’s coined $PSYOP.

Simply naming the coin PSYOP worked

It’s an unfortunate testament to the world we live in that by calling the new token $PSYOP, Ben dot Eth caused enough confusion to keep negative news at bay. Anything broken or downright stupid about the tokenomics could be brushed off as a purposeful psychological operation from the creator and his friends, and while millions of dollars worth of crypto poured into the project, media outlets largely refused to cover it because even negative stories were seen as positives by the creator.

Even though the launch was marred by contract issues and many individuals complained of receiving a fraction of the tokens they were promised, the coin has mooned and is still trading near all-time highs.  CoinGecko fairly notes that nearly the entire supply of PSYOP is in a wallet controlled by Ben dot Eth.

Making a mockery of an already mocked industry

Ben and Ben have done their best to make a mockery of an industry already mostly known for fraud, scams, rug pulls, and massive failures of exchanges resulting in billions of customer dollars lost. With two obvious scam tokens, Ben dot Eth has still managed to attract millions of dollars from cryptocurrency investors, including those who’ve been involved with the space for years. BitBoy has continued to make a fool of himself at every opportunity — from claiming to have single-handedly brought down FTX and screaming that someone was a bitch at the Bitcoin 2023 Conference, to advertising scams to millions on YouTube.

It’s unfortunate that these two individuals have become the best metaphor for what crypto currently represents, but with no sign that either of them will stop until they’re forced to or can’t milk more cash from naive investors, it’s really up to the media and citizen journalists to call them, their projects, and their endorsements out.

Got a tip? Send us an email or ProtonMail. For more informed news, follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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In the third instalment of my column So you don’t have to, the spotlight is once again on infamous crypto shill Ben Armstrong, aka BitBoy. Last time, we dissected his truly terrible book Catching Up to Crypto — now, we review his rather lengthy interview with Donald Trump Jr.

On May 4, the son of former president Donald Trump streamed a chat with Armstrong on his Rumble channel called Triggered. However, things quickly went askew.

In the video, BitBoy is said to have begun investing in bitcoin in 2012, “before anyone had even heard of crypto.” But in his book, Armstrong admits that any coins he purchased back then were quickly sold thereafter. He wasn’t a pioneer in cryptocurrency by any means, nor did he have programming or coding knowledge.

At another point, the duo called bitcoin’s early spenders “stupid” for buying pizza and drugs with it, without acknowledging that if no one had bought real-world goods with bitcoin, it would have likely failed.

But perhaps the funniest part of the interview occurred when Trump Jr. and BitBoy swap stories on the various times they were cut off from the US banking system. Reasons to kibosh varied, from authorities not loving the word ‘crypto’ in the names of their business ventures, to having a not-so-stellar reputation after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

Read more: Proud Boys ties to pro-crypto political consultant Samuel Armes

BitBoy shills and misinforms in Trump Jr. interview

Of course, Armstrong never misses a primetime opportunity to shill and promote the cryptocurrencies he owns. Both GoodGensler and XRP are name-dropped in the video — both crypto firms offer coins he’s invested in. BitBoy also makes sure to mention Ethereum, Cardano, ICP, Hbar, Algorand, and Polygon.

“If you don’t understand that everything the media is telling you is wrong, then you don’t have a brain,” Armstrong rather ironically told Trump Jr. during the hour-and-a-half of my life that I’ll never get back.

At one point in a discussion on blockchain’s various use cases, he suggested that our identities could be tokenized and blockchains could be used to verify age and other aspects of an individual. He didn’t express why tokenization or blockchain are needed for this.

Read more: BitBoy’s unhinged video rant really does encapsulate crypto

Armstrong later suggested that the only way to attack the Bitcoin network is to perform a 51% attack. But there are alternative attack methods, whether we’re discussing the future security budget once all the coins are mined, attacking the few developers who have access to the code, or even the re-awakening of Satoshi’s wallet (which would crater price if the coins were sold).

Then, they brought up US Senator Elizabeth Warren and claimed she’s anti-bank and anti-crypto because she takes political donations from Amazon, Google, Apple, and Microsoft. Now, I’m not defending Warren here, but arguing those companies represent the banks and are against crypto seems inaccurate — at worst they don’t care about crypto, at best they occasionally support it.

Suffice to say, this interview left me absolutely exhausted. A final highlight worth mentioning: apparently Sam Bankman-Fried makes Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme “look like small potatoes” and no one but Armstrong could have predicted the collapse of FTX.

“Could anyone else [besides you] have seen it coming?” Trump Jr. asked BitBoy at one point. 

Armstrong responds with a resounding “no.”

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At the end of 2022, I vowed to start the new year with a column called So You Don’t Have To. 

The idea was simple: I’d read crypto books, watch fluff documentaries, and play Ponzi games. Then, after torturing myself enough, I’d report back with an honest review.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t have started with a more loathsome, vanilla, and hypocritical book than Catching Up To Crypto: Your Guide to Bitcoin and the Digital Economy by the equally loathsome, vanilla, and hypocritical Ben “BitBoy” Armstrong.

The book is a mere 204 pages (but trust me, it feels much longer), with nearly 50 of those devoted to notes and indices. The notes, in this case, include a bunch of referral links to four crypto exchanges, BitBoy’s ‘courses’ from BitLab Academy, and a few portfolio trackers and trading analytics. These are all found in the section titled ‘Essential Resources and Tools of the Trade.’

But let’s start with a couple of points pre-chapter one.

You’re joining a cult

First up, Raoul Pal wrote the foreword for the book. His page of bland statements can mostly be ignored, except for the fact that he calls BitBoy a “deep expert in the space.” I’m not sure how BitBoy is a deep expert in anything besides grifting his audience and shilling bad projects, but Raoul doesn’t go out of his way to explain.

Perhaps he was happy to write the foreword because BitBoy lets him shill his company and Twitter handle at the end.

Next up, in the preface, BitBoy describes the literal “come to God” moment that brought him into the realm of cryptocurrency: “The Lord spoke to me in a dream… [and said] by the end of the year [my wife and I] would be millionaires.”

It’s probably fair to file that under ‘cult-like and shallow.’ I mean, imagine God comes to you in a dream and all he says is, “You’ll make a lot of money!”

This is to say that while some cults — like religious fanaticism or fantasy-novels-turned-pseudo-religions — can be interesting to view from the outside, BitBoy’s attempt at a modern-day version of Dianetics proves to be even less persuasive and ultimately boring, with a mantra akin to “crypto is future, money is good.”

I hate this already

It was in the introduction that I realized I already hated BitBoy’s Catching Up To Crypto. While describing his first interactions with Bitcoin in (supposedly) 2012, he made numerous statements that not only make no sense but aren’t even true. For example:

• In 2012 and 2013 “selling Bitcoin was a lot harder than buying.”

• He claims that there was no information to reference in 2012, but only attempts to find videos on YouTube.

• BitBoy cites “Crypto Crow… Ian Balina” and “Ivan on Tech,” as great resources available in 2017, yet all individuals named are associated with scamming their audiences and relying on ref links for income.

However, despite all this, what made me most nauseous was the line, “The cliché ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’ has proven true in my career as a crypto YouTuber.”

Read more: Who is BitBoy Crypto and why does everybody hate him?

BitBoy is all about repetition without personality

Most of the chapters in this book are regurgitated slogans about Austrian economics, propaganda espousing the benefits of deflationary currency, brief discussions of why decentralization is best for privacy, and, of course, why cryptocurrencies are destined to take over the world.

There are innumerable hypocrisies scattered throughout the pages of this book, from the jumping-off point of his godly desire to be a millionaire to his repeated claims that fiat is “a worthless piece of paper.”

Unfortunately, these instances of insincerity aren’t funny, witty, or even enthralling. It’s just tiresome.

Recommendations (before we move on)

While intense and loud criticism for something as abhorrent as Catching Up To Crypto is necessary (after all, without it somebody might mistakenly go out and buy it), I also think it’s worth pointing people in the right direction if they want to read up on some of the topics covered in the book.

First of all, there’s a wonderful book by former New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper entitled Digital Gold, which does a fantastic job of going over the early history of Bitcoin and the people involved.

Secondly, the BitMEX Research-sponsored book by Jonathan Bier called The Blocksize War: The battle over who controls Bitcoin’s protocol rules is a thorough explanation of the debate between so-called ‘big-blockers’ and ‘small blockers’ and does a much better job of detailing the intricacies.

Lastly, Laura Shin’s The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze does a much better job of objectively looking at the rise of Ethereum and its founders.

Read more: BitBoy’s unhinged video rant really does encapsulate crypto

Standout moments

One of the best parts of the book is when BitBoy discusses “Moonboys and Lambos” and tries to help the reader understand and notice top signals for a market. Unfortunately, one of the top signals he points to is “paid celebrity endorsements… [getting] out of hand,” and celebrities not “disclosing that their posts were paid sponsorships.”

BitBoy was forced to pay ZachXBT, an anonymous cryptocurrency sleuth, $10,000 for not disclosing a paid sponsorship on a video. This is something he’s done numerous times, along with accepting coins and equity for mentioning tokens.

The funniest description in the entire book, however, is BitBoy’s attempt at explaining how hashing works: “Hashing a number is the same idea as chopping up potatoes to make hashbrowns: taking something uniform and scrambling it up. A simple definition of ‘hashing’ is that it’s a mathematics term for running some data through a formula. A hash is the result that comes out of the formula — like a plate of hashbrowns you order at Waffle House.”

“I’ve flunked students for much better definitions of a hash,” said one online commentator. “What the **** did I just read?” said another.

BitBoy book provides no value

In short, there’s no value — redemptive, or otherwise — to Catching Up To Crypto. BitBoy charges $22 for this utter trash and there’s no getting those dirty “worthless pieces of paper” back after wasting several hours reading it.

Not wanting to risk this awful tome finding its way into the hands of another unsuspecting victim, I’ve chosen to do the only thing acceptable: I threw the book in the recycling, where I can rest assured it will never be discovered by another innocent dupe like me.

Words in bold are our emphasis. For more informed news, follow us on Twitter and Google News or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

The post So you don’t have to: Catching Up to Crypto by Ben Armstrong appeared first on Protos.

If you’ve been enjoying life and staying offline, you may have missed Ben Armstrong, aka “BitBoy,” ranting like a maniac for several minutes about cryptocurrency regulation and influencers. But don’t worry, here it is in all its glory:

And here’s the diatribe diluted to its most interesting moments:

“You know what? We are tired of people that look like this guy [Ryan Sean Adams, a podcaster] trying to run stuff. I don’t represent the people? The f*ck I don’t! I’m the one who does! It’s me! I’m the one out here putting the work in, behind the scenes, trying to save crypto, while these devils, Sam Bankman-Fried [founder and CEO of FTX], Brian Armstrong [co-founder and CEO of Coinbase], they’re trying to permanently ruin it! This is not about money for me! … I’m here, fighting for you!”

“Only the suits know what to do! Only the suits! Only the people who have all the money, they’re going to determine what happens! No!”

“Are you not tired of this technocracy? I hope you are, cause I am!… You guys are gonna see that we’re the ones who care, we’re the ones who are trying to give the people a say in what happens, not the elite!”

“Sam Bankman-Fried is the devil! He is the devil in crypto! … This guy is literally trying to ruin crypto permanently in the United States!”

As usual, the crypto industry has played itself, locked in place somewhere between a billionaire exchange owner and a YouTube influencer who’s been called out for scamming his own followers, trying to sway regulators and politicians.

Separating reality from fiction

A clear thread runs through the BitBoy video: there’s an elite class, dictating poorly thought-out reforms and exclusionary policies, and there’s BitBoy’s crew. The message is equally clear: Be with BitBoy.

What Armstrong is referring to is Sam Bankman-Fried’s leaked proposition for the regulation of DeFi. The proposal has received widespread backlash within the cryptocurrency community, with many either asking for SBF to reconsider his suggestions or scrap the proposal altogether.

SBF has, apparently, taken people’s concerns to heart. Time will tell what this means in reality.

But Armstrong’s hyperbole — from calling specific individuals devils to claiming anyone could “ruin crypto permanently” — sets the tone for the discourse.

The unfortunate reality is that all of these things can be true at once:

• SBF primarily cares about regulation and political maneuvering so that his businesses, FTX and Alameda Research, remain successful.
• Ben Armstrong is a charlatan who uses his relatability to shill failed cryptocurrency projects.
• Ben Armstrong has an affiliate link on his website and in his videos for FTX-competitor Binance.
• Neither of these individuals wants what’s best for the people who follow them and listen to their every word. They care almost exclusively about their bottom lines.

The accidental exposé

It’s important to note that Armstrong quotes a Ryan Sean Adams tweet at the beginning of his tirade — a tweet that explicitly begs legislators not to listen to people like Ben Armstrong. While it’s doubtful any politicians watch the BitBoy YouTube channel, they’re certainly active on crypto Twitter.

And… Armstrong went viral.

The politicians (or at least their social media teams) were instantly made aware of someone who got rich off the backs of his subscribers, running a “BitLab Academy,” and publishing a book on how to get into cryptocurrency.

In the other corner is Bankman-Fried, who built his fortune on a legally questionable arbitrage trade and openly called DeFi — more or less — a Ponzi scheme when chatting on OddLots with Matt Levine. While his estimated net worth of almost $11 billion is impressive, the idea that he’s putting the everyman before the profitability of his companies is naive, at best.

Read more: Who is BitBoy Crypto and why does everybody hate him?

Stuck in the middle

So where does this leave everyone else? It’s safe to assume that most individuals who either work or play in the crypto industry would prefer that neither Armstrong or SBF attempt to dictate what policies guide regulation and legislation.

That doesn’t seem to be a viable option, though, as both are stepping up lobbying efforts in the US — along with Coinbase CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong.

Many of those who were loudest and the most meme-able have either disappeared — like Su Zhu, Kyle Davies, and Do Kwon — or found themselves in hot water boiling so hard they can’t speak, like Alex Mashinsky from Celsius. Few voices are boisterous enough after the crash and burn of speculative asset prices to confidently sway legislators’ opinions.

People will claim that cryptocurrency is decentralized and no one can represent it, but in the real world, in Washington DC, in the halls of the Capitol, there are people lobbying for very specific legislation to guide the principles of the industry, and two of the loudest just made fools of themselves.

For more informed news, follow us on Twitter and Google News or listen to our investigative podcast Innovated: Blockchain City.

The post BitBoy’s unhinged video rant really does encapsulate crypto appeared first on Protos.

The rise of the influencer class has been nothing short of meteoric across nearly every social media platform and has found particular favor among the new, media-savvy, wealthy elite. Unfortunately, the new wealthy elite appears to be exactly the same as the old wealthy elite, as illustrated by its increased willingness to litigate against critics.

The influencer class in crypto

While there are hundreds of new influencers in the cryptocurrency industry, few have slimed their way into the mainstream consciousness like Ben Armstrong (or BitBoy Crypto on most social media) and Ran Neuner.

The two combined have millions of YouTube subscribers, over a million Twitter followers, and about half a million Instagram followers, meaning they leave a pretty large footprint when it comes to investments they suggest, lampoon, or otherwise give advice about. This massive following also provides them the capital and time they need to come after anyone who decides to investigate their respective histories.

BitBoy

Ben’s story is one of redemption: an admitted meth addict turned minister and rehabilitation center executive finds a home in DeFi, giving cryptocurrency trading advice starting in 2018. He hasn’t looked back since.

When asked by the Washington Post about his ascension to “crypto influencer” status (this is the actual job title he lists on LinkedIn) — with over a million subscribers on YouTube and nearly 2.7 million followers on TikTok before his account was permanently banned in February of 2022 — Ben casually remarked that he “is authentic… the same person on-camera as off-camera.”

Read more: Who is BitBoy Crypto and why does everybody hate him?

But after bringing (and subsequently dropping) a lawsuit against well-known YouTuber Atozy for speaking ill of his videos (where he often makes recommendations but is careful to end and begin every video with the blanket disclaimer of “not financial advice”) the authentic persona seems to be fading away.

Ran Neuner

Ran Neuner is an influencer, an entrepreneur, a CEO, a founder, and an investor — though you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody outside of cryptocurrency Twitter who knows it. Now an independent media personality, Ran, who has long called Johannesburg, South Africa, home, was once featured on a CNBC Africa segment called Crypto Trader, but currently distributes content under his YouTube channel Crypto Banter.

Ran got his start in marketing. In fact, he claims to have founded and operated the “largest marketing firm” on the African continent for years until selling “The Creative Counsel” to Publicis Groupe for millions.

At this point, Ran delved into cryptocurrencies — according to him by reaching out to “friends like Brock Pierce” and others — and started his fund called “OnChain Capital.” That’s when the dramatic growth began.

Ran’s YouTube and Twitter presence is indeed quite large: he has ~580,000 subscribers and ~630,000 followers, respectively. This is to suggest that there are plenty of people listening to his trading advice and accepting that he is, perhaps, an expert in the field of cryptocurrency.

But as Ran’s fame and wealth have grown, so has the scrutiny of his trading activities and public endorsements for projects. Recently, as rumors of pumping and dumping and paid endorsements have surfaced relating to his funds and personal wallets, Ran has been sending out cease and desist letters along with veiled threats of doxxing (a term used to describe unmasking anonymous individuals online) to critics and whistleblowers on Twitter.

Problem meets solution

While many crypto advocates and influencers like to speak about how decentralized cryptocurrencies are disrupting every industry and preventing government overreach, many of these same individuals will readily turn to the government to silence critics.

Indeed, Armstrong has supposedly sent out cease and desist orders and lawsuit threats to numerous people — the exact number we can’t confirm, but during a live stream he claimed, “I’ve had another lawsuit, it was behind closed doors, and it worked out great.” This suggests that Ben:

1. Regularly uses strategic lawsuits to silence anyone speaking ill of his work.

2. Has successfully used this tactic repeatedly to have videos and podcasts deleted that were causing issues for his channel and persona.

Meanwhile, Ran sent out what would be a funny letter if not for the fact that it directly threatened legal action against FatManTerra, an anonymous figure on Twitter who’s been religiously following the Luna/Terra debacle. The letter opens, “Attention Fat Man.”

Read more: Leaked doc allegedly shows how much influencers charge to shill crypto on Twitter

And this doesn’t even touch on the fact that Ran has threatened to name the face behind the Twitter account ZachXBT — the most prolific and important sleuth in the crypto industry. The reason? Zach has shown proof of Ran purchasing, giving airtime to, and then almost instantly selling stakes in numerous cryptocurrency projects — a concept that’s called pumping and dumping under any other guise.

“They invest in the worst projects, sh**ty VCs, and get a huge (equity) allocation,” Zach said, referring to the likes of Ran, BitBoy, and others. “After a year and a half of chasing (these influencers) I’m feeling frustrated, but what can you do? They’re misleading their audiences and I hope it catches up to them from a legal standpoint.”

Unfortunately, Zach and other critics and sleuths can’t just hope for repercussions for the influencers. When asked about the consistent tweets suggesting that Ran will unmask him Zach simply said, “Yeah, it feels like a threat,” (our emphasis).

Not long after this, Zach openly discussed the issues surrounding being an anonymous lone wolf cryptocurrency sleuth, with problems ranging from hostility and legal threats to workload and entitled victims:

How critics can fight back

It’s paramount that critics and sleuths, whether they’re anonymous, pseudo-anonymous, or not anonymous at all, understand their rights. Depending on where you live, you can and should be protected in any number of ways.

First, it’s important to know one’s rights before speaking out. Unfortunately, jurisdiction plays an important role when it comes to one’s ability to be prosecuted for libel or slander. For instance, England has far less forgiving definitions of libel and slander than the United States, but even in the US, which state you reside in plays a significant factor in the ability of a crypto influencer to bring lawsuits.

If you do reside in the US, many states, such as California and Texas, provide very strong anti-SLAPP (anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) protections, ensuring that if someone does file a lawsuit against a critic for protected speech the plaintiff will, likely, have to pay for legal fees (and possibly more).

Nineteen states, including New Jersey and Ohio, don’t have any anti-SLAPP protections whatsoever. (The EU has anti-SLAPP legislation in the works.)

Secondly, if someone has either sent you a cease and desist or threat of a lawsuit that you feel is unjust, immediately seek out the help of a lawyer. They will, hopefully, be able to either give you a proper estimate on what it would look like to fight or guide you to another lawyer that can provide assistance.

Lastly, if you decide to make a public criticism or voice a concern, are then served with a lawsuit, and decide you want to fight it, it could be a good idea to speak up. “If this would have been public, I wouldn’t have done it,” said Ben Armstrong in a YouTube video announcing that he was dropping his lawsuit against Atozy. The backlash from publicizing a lawsuit seen by everyone as an attempt to silence a critic helped quash the threat before it could take off.

Read more: Hodlonaut receives massive support and $1M ahead of Craig Wright court cases

Know thy enemy

Since many fintech and cryptocurrency influencers are keen to categorize criticism or even just insults as brazen attacks on their brand, it’s necessary to understand what to expect when loudly exposing a serious financial malfeasance or questioning assurances. The influencers do not accept the criticisms or exposés as lessons to learn from or suggestions to be constructive, they merely see them as risks that need to be mitigated, and often the easiest method is to silence individuals with litigation intimidation tactics.

There is no surefire way to protect against influencers filing flagrant lawsuits against valid criticisms, but the best offense is a good defense — know the inherent risks involved and be prepared for the worst.

Our team has reached out to Ran and Ben with questions and will update this piece if we hear back.

For more informed news, follow us on Twitter and Google News or listen to our investigative podcast Innovated: Blockchain City.

The post The rise of the crypto influencer and the fall of truth appeared first on Protos.