MrBeast promotes low-cap tokens, earns $10m: crypto watchdog

MrBeast, a YouTube entertainer with over 320 million followers, has come under scrutiny following an on-chain investigation that suggests he may have earned millions from low-cap crypto.  

According to the anonymous crypto sleuth known as SomaXBT, MrBeast — whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson — earned over $10 million from backing Initial DEX Offerings (IDOs) for projects like Polychain Monsters (PMON) and Virtue Poker (VPP).

It’s an ethical red flag, SomXBT says, equating it to a pump-and-dump scheme. By promoting the tokens to millions of followers, only to sell them after their value surges, causes regular investors to suffer a loss.

“This is the shady stuff they’ve all done in the crypto market,” SomXBT stated on X, referring to social media influencers. “[If] they had done this in the stock market, the SEC would be after them.”

SomaXBT uses on-chain data to track to increase transparency and hold the crypto community accountable. His work, evident in his Oct. 11 posts, highlights the risks of influencer-backed token promotions.

MrBeast’s involvement with SUPER

According to the investigation, Donaldson’s involvement spans several projects, including SuperFarm ($SUPER), Polychain Monsters ($PMON), SPLYT ($SHOPX), STAK, and Virtue Poker ($VPP).

The analysis is based on wallet activity labeled as ‘Mr. Beast’ on Arkham Intelligence.

One of the most important involvements was alleged to be the $SUPER token by SuperFarmDAO. SomaXBT claims that Donaldson invested $100,000 and subsequently received 1 million $SUPER tokens.

The investigation alleges that these tokens were later sold for approximately 1,900 ETH, worth about $3.7 million at the time.

Additional vested tokens reportedly netted the YouTube star another $5.5 million. This allegedly brought his total earnings from $SUPER to around $9 million.

Similar patterns were observed with other tokens. SomaXBT stated that 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. The investigation also points to earnings of $1.25 million from $STAK tokens.

SomaXBT notes that many of these projects have since faced major devaluations, with some down over 90% from their peak prices. Some projects have rebranded or pivoted following major losses.

SomaXBT draws parallels to regulated markets, suggesting that such activities in the stock market would likely attract regulatory attention.

SomaXBT also reminded the community about MrBeast’s earlier support for non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. A screenshot of a tweet shows Donaldson’s mentioning Gary Vee and openly stating that he loaded up on some Vee friends.

Crypto.news emailed MrBeast requesting an interview but hasn’t heard back.