Cryptocurrency has become a hotbed of scams, frauds, and illegal activities, and this is where Stephen Findeisen, better known as "Coffeezilla," comes in. This self-proclaimed "internet detective" has made it his full-time job to track down and bring to justice the bad actors in the crypto world. And in a recent case, he made headlines by taking down the CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried.
Before he was a crypto sleuth, Findeisen had seen scams and frauds destroy people's lives, including his own mother who fell for a fake cancer treatment. But it was during his time at Texas A&M University that he was exposed to a multilevel-marketing scheme, and that's when he realized that he wanted to do something about it. He started a YouTube channel where he critiqued financial influencers and eventually found his niche in investigating dubious crypto and NFT projects.
And it's a good thing he did, because the crypto industry is crawling with bad actors. Illicit crypto transactions reached an all-time high in 2022, the same year Findeisen gained over a million new subscribers on his channel. He started investigating the industry because he wanted to expose the bad things that were going on and hold the perpetrators accountable.
This is where he encountered Bankman-Fried and FTX. In a series of conversations with Bankman-Fried over Twitter Spaces, Findeisen grilled the CEO on various accusations, from the mismanagement of customer funds to the false claims of no knowledge of their movement. And in the end, it was Findeisen who got the "smoking gun" when Bankman-Fried admitted that FTX's customer deposits were treated differently than outlined in the Terms of Service, an admission of fraud.
Findeisen's investigation into Bankman-Fried and FTX spread like wildfire online and was a major factor in the CEO's eventual arrest and indictment on various charges of fraud, money laundering, and illicit use of customer funds. The crypto community hailed Findeisen as a citizen journalist who used his wit, sarcasm, and sleuthing skills to bring down a corrupt CEO.
Of course, not everyone is a fan of Findeisen. He's drawn the ire of the influencer set, including YouTuber Logan Paul, who was the subject of a three-part YouTube series exposing his NFT project as a scam. But Findeisen isn't one to back down and continues to use his platform to hold bad actors accountable in the crypto world.
In conclusion, if you're looking for a good laugh, some sarcasm, and an eye-opening investigation into the dark side of crypto, then look no further than Coffeezilla. He's the internet detective who's making a difference and keeping the crypto industry honest.