MrBeast Under Fire for Making Over $10M in Crypto Pump & Dump
MrBeast, one of YouTube's biggest creators, has been accused of making over $10 million through alleged cryptocurrency pump-and-dump schemes, according to new on-chain analysis.
❤️💛💚💙
🚨 Mr. Beast has been accused by making $10 million dollars by packing low-cap scam IDO projects.
Many influencers are named in the tweet here.
The investigation shows that Mr. Beast market sold many coins down -90% and ruined the price charts.
One project he bought… pic.twitter.com/gWv7s1VAlD
— yourfriendSOMMI ❤️💛💚💙 (@yourfriendSOMMI) October 14, 2024
The investigation, led by blockchain investigator SomaXBT, suggests on X (formerly known as Twitter), that MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, cashed in on several token launches that were later dumped for significant profits.
Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence traced the main wallet linked to MrBeast, which he previously acknowledged using for NFT purchases, reportedly participated in token sales of controversial crypto projects, only to sell off shortly after.
Mr. Beast doxxed himself back in 2021 https://t.co/hU7JTe6KVV pic.twitter.com/xx8LaUDkni
— Conor (@jconorgrogan) June 27, 2023
SomaXBT revealed that MrBeast's involvement with low-cap crypto tokens, promoted by influencers like Lark Davis, KSI, and CryptoBanter, potentially turned a $250,000 investment into millions, mostly during 2021.
1/ An investigation into @MrBeast ,how he allegedly 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
These allegations, though not necessarily illegal, have raised ethical concerns about his role in these transactions.
Details of MrBeast's Alleged Pump & Dump
SomaXBT's investigation alleges that a wallet linked to MrBeast profited significantly from cryptocurrency projects like SuperVerse (SUPER), which the YouTuber publicly endorsed in 2021.
The wallet reportedly purchased one million SUPER tokens for $100,000 USDC, only to sell them at the token's peak value a month later.
3/ Here's the proof he invested only $100k in SuperFarmDAO. In a screenshot from @elliotrades live stream, he accidentally revealed a DM conversation with MrBeast about the $100k investment. Later, this matched with MrBeast's wallet activity, where he sent $100k to a new wallet.… pic.twitter.com/yxfW0aZcuJ
— SomaXBT (@somaxbt) October 11, 2024
MrBeast is accused of using his influence to inflate SUPER's value before cashing out, turning millions of dollars' worth of SUPER into Ether, ultimately making over $9 million.
Shortly after, SUPER's value plummeted by more than 90%.
5/ later that Mr. Beast showed his support following the superFarmDAO on X (currently @SuperFarmDAO private, and moved their project to the new handle @SuperVerse)
Again, on March 4th, Mr. Beast showed his support commenting "👀" (keeping eyes on this) under one of the… pic.twitter.com/ztKh0ZNRBZ
— SomaXBT (@somaxbt) October 11, 2024
A similar pattern was seen with Polkamon (PMON), where a $25,000 investment in 25,000 PMON tokens was quickly sold for a profit of $1.3 million.
7/ $PMON by Polychain Monsters (Now @protocolmon)$PMON is another project where MrBeast made significant money. By investing just $25k, he made $1.7 million.
I'm not going to explain how bad $PMON was, @zachxbt already covered it in a detailed thread. Check out for more details…
— SomaXBT (@somaxbt) October 11, 2024
According to on-chain investigator ZachXBT, Polkamon had been previously flagged for benefiting insiders at the expense of retail traders.
4/ Polkamon ($PMON)
As one of the largest marketing failures this bull run the chart exemplified suspicious activity.
In doing so I reviewed the entire transaction history from launch to June. Below is a brief summary of my findings. pic.twitter.com/cOKmSAlwjv
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 30, 2021
SomaXBT also identified alleged pump-and-dump activity by MrBeast with other projects like Polychain Monsters, STAK, VPP, and SHOPX.
15/ With all this, MrBeast also showed his support for NFTs. He openly promoted VeeFriends from Gary Vee on Twitter and spent $1.25 million to buy them. Additionally, he has traded various NFTs. pic.twitter.com/iZ097TdwNa
— SomaXBT (@somaxbt) October 11, 2024
Is MrBeast a Knowing Mastermind or an Unknowing Victim?
It remains unclear whether MrBeast knowingly or unintentionally misrepresented his involvement with these crypto projects, as none of his statements suggest a long-term commitment to them.
While the controversial transactions are tied to a wallet MrBeast has publicly acknowledged using, it is uncertain if he personally executed the trades.
Conor Grogan, Coinbase's head of product, has previously analysed the activity of this wallet but has been cautious in drawing definitive conclusions from the on-chain data.
He speculated:
“There is always a chance that a friend or producer or someone completely unrelated were behind those accounts. It's too hard to tell. So I generally don't like accusing people without firm evidence.”
Whether MrBeast is a willing participant or an unwitting victim, he and his team have yet to release an official statement on the matter.
