A recent investigation has linked popular YouTube personality James Stephen Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, to over $23 million in alleged profits from various cryptocurrency trades that may involve insider trading.
According to a report by advisory firm Loock.io, a group of on-chain investigators claims that MrBeast and his influencer network used their social media presence to promote and profit from several crypto tokens at the expense of investors.
$23 Million in Profits
Lookonchain revealed the tokens allegedly involved in these trades. They include SuperVerse (SUPER), which reportedly yielded $11.45 million, Ethernity Chain (ERN) with $4.65 million in profits, Polkamon (PMON) with $1.72 million, STAK with $1.31 million, and AIOZ with $1 million.
Loock.io’s findings indicate that approximately 50 crypto wallets are linked to MrBeast’s network. The investigators suggest that his trading activity was trackable due to a public Ethereum wallet, historically used for NFT purchases, which helped analysts connect transactions across associated wallets.
This provided insight into the funds’ movement and identified possible instances where tokens were quickly sold after promotions. However, the details of who specifically managed each wallet remain uncertain.
Examples of the Schemes
A wallet associated with MrBeast is reported to have invested $25,000 in PMON, later selling it for $1.3 million. On-chain analyst ZachXBT had also previously flagged the tokens’ trading activities.
The reports also show that Donaldson received a significant allocation of tokens from the ERN pre-sale, later acquiring additional tokens and transferring approximately half to the wallet address 0x2eB7.
The remaining tokens were moved to another wallet, 0x9b00. Shortly after these transfers, the two wallets offloaded their holdings, resulting in a combined profit of $1.83 million. MrBeast reportedly realized a profit of $2.97 million from his allocated tokens, although he continues to hold a smaller quantity acquired months later.
The project known as SuperVerse was another profitable venture for him. The Youtouber allegedly made an initial investment of $100,000 reportedly generating around $7.5 million in returns.
The investigation suggests that his network, which includes other influencers like KSI, also benefited by promoting and selling tokens to their followers, collectively earning an estimated $10 million.
This alleged activity reflects a broader trend where public figures promote cryptocurrency projects that frequently result in losses for retail investors. This trend has been particularly evident with meme coins on the Solana (SOL) network, where celebrities launched 30 meme coins in June alone.
On average, these tokens have plummeted by 94% from their peak values, with the top performers still experiencing losses of over 70% and nearly half losing more than 99% since their launch.
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