Jimmy Donaldson, widely known as MrBeast, a prominent YouTube entertainer with over 320 million followers, is under scrutiny following an investigation by the anonymous crypto sleuth SomaXBT. The investigation suggests that MrBeast may have earned over $10 million from investments in low-cap cryptocurrencies, raising ethical concerns about his involvement in the crypto market.
SomaXBT, known for using on-chain data to increase transparency in the crypto community, alleges that MrBeast profited significantly from backing Initial DEX Offerings (IDOs) for projects such as Polychain Monsters (PMON) and Virtue Poker (VPP). The sleuth equates these activities to a pump-and-dump scheme, where influencers promote tokens to their vast audiences, only to sell them after their value surges, leaving regular investors at a loss.
“This is the shady stuff they’ve all done in the crypto market,” SomaXBT stated on X, formerly known as Twitter. “If they had done this in the stock market, the SEC would be after them.”
The investigation, based on wallet activity labeled as ‘Mr. Beast’ on Arkham Intelligence, highlights MrBeast’s involvement in several projects, including SuperFarm ($SUPER), Polychain Monsters ($PMON), SPLYT ($SHOPX), STAK, and Virtue Poker ($VPP).
One of the most significant allegations involves the SUPER token by SuperFarmDAO. According to SomaXBT, MrBeast invested \100,000 and received 1 million SUPER tokens, which were later sold for approximately 1,900 ETH, worth about \3.7 million at the time. Additional vested tokens reportedly netted him another $5.5 million, bringing his total earnings from SUPER to around \9 million.
Similar patterns were observed with other tokens. In the case of PMON, a \25,000 investment allegedly resulted in $1.7 million in profits. The SHOPX token reportedly yielded \765,000 from an initial $25,000 investment, while STAK tokens brought in \1.25 million.
SomaXBT notes that many of these projects have since faced significant devaluations, with some down over 90% from their peak prices. Some projects have rebranded or pivoted following major losses.
Drawing parallels to regulated markets, SomaXBT suggests that such activities in the stock market would likely attract regulatory attention. The investigation also reminds the community of MrBeast’s earlier support for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), highlighting a tweet where Donaldson mentioned Gary Vee and stated that he had invested in Vee friends.
As the crypto community grapples with these revelations, the ethical implications of influencer-backed token promotions continue to be a topic of heated debate.
