Logan Paul Under Fire for CryptoZoo Scam

Logan Paul’s NFT game ‘CryptoZoo’ is currently embroiled in controversy following a three-part series by investigative YouTuber, Coffeezilla (real name Stephen Findeisen).

Since 17 December, Findeisen has uploaded a three-part series on Logan Paul’s scam blockchain game, CryptoZoo. The series dismantles the controversial NFT game and spotlights the many investors who have lost millions in the apparently defunct project. 

The video series currently has a combined view count of 13.2 million. 

This is not Coffeezilla’s investigation into crypto scams. Stephen Findeisen is an online sleuth and YouTuber who specializes in uncovering scams and fraudsters. Over the past few years, he has been focusing on uncovering scams in the blockchain and NFT space. His channel description has a nugget of wisdom that summarizes his general ethos. “If you have to ask… it’s probably too good to be true.” At the time of writing, his channel has over 2.1 million subscribers. 

His work has earned him a profile in the prestigious New Yorker magazine, which painted him as something of an unsung hero poking around in the darker side of crypto and NFTs. A video series on the Save the Kids token is widely recognized as his transition to a more serious, investigative style of content. Videos by Findeisen spread the word about the pump-and-dump scheme, ultimately dooming it.

As of Tuesday, 27 December (UTC), both Findeisen and Paul have invited each other onto their respective shows to discuss the controversy.

What Is CryptoZoo?

Logan Paul’s CryptoZoo was billed as an NFT-based game where players could earn passive income. The idea for the project first appeared in an episode of Paul’s Impaulsive podcast. According to Paul, the team behind the project had spent six months making “handmade” animal-based NFTs. 

It was Paul’s intention to raise one million dollars to create the game and NFTs. Players could purchase NFT “eggs” of the animals, which could be “bred” and minted to create unique NFTs at the game’s launch. To acquire the eggs, players had to purchase the game’s ZOO token

NFT eggs worth $2.5 million had been sold at the time of launch. However, by October, ZOO had lost almost all of its value. Its price has only dropped since.

The YouTube influencer has previously blamed the game’s developer for its apparent implosion. According to Paul, the developer created a code and then absconded to Switzerland. The developer apparently wouldn’t return the code unless Paul paid him one million dollars. The project’s developer disputes this and maintains that he was never paid.

CryptoZoo was due to launch in September 2021, but as of today, the project does not exist. The website currently says “is undergoing upgrades to the core infrastructure of the ecosystem.” 

The website currently says that it is “still under construction and would be undergoing upgrades to the main infrastructure of the ecosystem.” The project’s official Twitter profile has posted nothing since 28 May.

Logan also appears to have removed all references to the project from his YouTube channel.

This Isn’t Logan Paul’s First Crypto Scam

Logan Paul previously tried to pump Dink Doink (DINK), a meme coin that he implied he had no involvement in. It subsequently came out that Paul had helped create the “character.” In a video and tweet, he described the project as “the dumbest, most ridiculous shitcoin I’ve ever seen. And that’s why I’m all in.”

According to CoinGecko, there is one hundred quintillion DINK on the market, with each worth less than one trillionth of a cent. Effectively making them permanently worthless.