The most popular esports and entertainment organization in the world FaZe Clan has dropped one member, and suspended three, following their alleged involvement in a crypto pump and dump scam.
With 11.2 million followers on Instagram, and Institutional sponsors such as Nissan, HTX Esports and G Fuel, the influence and reach of FaZe Clan is significant. Having successfully merged the influencer status with a legitimate Esports organization, it makes sense that crypto companies would see the potential marketing strategy of influencers such as FaZe Clan.
The crypto ‘pump and dump’ scam that members of FaZe Clan were allegedly involved in, saw them promote a ‘Save The Kids’ altcoin and then dump their investments. The Save The Kids token was heavily promoted by various members of FaZe Clan, who were reportedly paid for the promotion of the scam coin.
As a response to these allegations, the organization released a statement yesterday that seemed to clearly separate FaZe Clan from the behaviour of some of its members.
“FaZe Clan had absolutely no involvement with our member’s activity in the cryptocurrency space. “We strongly condone their recent behavior. The trust and respect of our fans has been, and will always be, our number one priority.”
Members Jarvis, Nikan, and Teeqo were all suspended from the Esports organization, while Kay was dropped by FaZe Clan.
Aside from the alleged pump and dump of the altcoin, a number of other influencers have suggested that the members involved knew that the project was designed to extract money from their fans, rather than to support a children’s charity.
Kay released an apology via twitter prior to being dropped by the group:
“I didn’t vet any of this with my team at FaZe and I now know I should have,” “It was so irresponsible of me to speak publicly about any coins without knowing more & knowing now that they can do more harm than good.”
With the number of ponzi scams and pump and dump schemes rife in the crypto community, influencers are increasingly being targeted by fraudulent, or questionable projects, for their social reach. Altcoins and meme coins in particular, often use influencers to prop up their crypto promotion. Influencers who tend to have a younger, more naive fanbase, therefore need to be held accountable for their actions, and take responsibility for situations such as the above.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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