Base’s Jesse Pollak faces backlash over a $1,500 ETH Soulja Boy token bet as ZachXBT revives fraud claims around the rapper’s past NFT and token promotions.
Summary
- Pollak disclosed a $1,500 ETH investment in a new Soulja Boy token on Coinbase’s Base network, sparking community backlash.
- ZachXBT resurfaced 2023 research alleging Soulja Boy-backed NFTs and tokens were serial rug pulls and heavily paid promotions.
- Soulja Boy now claims greater crypto literacy and apologizes, blaming third-party handlers and poor due diligence for past scams.
Jesse Pollak, co-founder of Coinbase’s Base network, faced criticism from the cryptocurrency community after posting about a $1,500 Ethereum investment linked to a new Soulja Boy token, according to social media posts.
On-chain investigator ZachXBT questioned the investment, citing research from April 2023 that documented six tokens promoted by Soulja Boy that were either abandoned or identified as rug pulls, according to the investigator’s public thread.
Base and Soulja Boy scam token go bussin’ online
ZachXBT’s research identified several token promotions associated with the rapper, including RapDoge, Orion, The Life Token, Flokinomics, and SafeMars. The investigator noted that Soulja Boy’s promotional posts disclosed compensation details for the projects.
The researcher reported that Soulja Boy launched at least nine non-fungible token (NFT) collections in 2021, many of which were subsequently removed from OpenSea, deleted, or failed to deliver stated utility. ZachXBT estimated the rapper earned approximately $730,000 from these promotions during the 2021 bull market, based on a leaked price list showing $12,000 per Instagram post and $10,000 per X promotion.
Soulja Boy addressed the allegations in a post on X. “I want to be clear and transparent. I had no knowledge that a scammer named Sahil was involved or paying me to promote anything fraudulent,” the rapper stated. “At the time, I was doing paid promos without understanding the crypto/NFT space the way I do now.”
The rapper stated he has since gained understanding of the cryptocurrency space and offered an apology to investors who experienced losses. He acknowledged insufficient due diligence in past promotions and stated his approach to projects has changed.
In a response to a user, Soulja Boy stated that previous cryptocurrency projects associated with scams were paid promotions conducted at various times and managed by third parties over which he had no oversight or control, according to his social media post.
The incident highlights ongoing questions regarding celebrity involvement in cryptocurrency promotions, where public influence intersects with investor risk. The industry faces continued scrutiny over accountability and transparency in digital asset endorsements.
