IShowSpeed crypto scam controversy explained

Darren "IShowSpeed" has been the talk of the streaming world for the last week since promoting an alleged crypto scam on his YouTube stream on November 16. A cryptocurrency project called Paradox Metaverse that was sponsoring the stream has been accused by many in the community and beyond of being a problematic business with the classic indicators of a crypto pump and dump.

Popular YouTuber and self-proclaimed scam detective Coffeezilla even confronted the showrunners of the project on live-stream and later released a video expressing his concerns. IShowSpeed did apologize for the stream after the fact, vehemently claiming that he had no ill intentions and that he is not a scammer.

This article goes over the full timeline of the controversy in a bid to explain the situation succinctly to those who are out of the loop.

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IShowSpeed hosted a stream that was sponsored by the cryptocurrency project Paradox Metaverse

The YouTube sensation has had a meteoric rise to fame in recent years, having acquired over 13 million subscribers on the platform and attracting tens of thousands of eager fans who tune in to watch his streams regularly. The 17-year-old, however, is no stranger to controversy. In the past, he has been banned from Twitch for his incendiary remarks and barred from all games made by Riot for highly misogynistic comments.

The football fanatic and Ronaldo superfan was in the UK last week to catch the Portuguese star play. Despite going to two Manchester United matches, he did not have the chance to see Cristiano Ronaldo.

During his stay in England, the YouTuber hosted a stream that was sponsored by the cryptocurrency project Paradox Metaverse, which made a pay-to-earn open-world game on the blockchain.

While giving away a bunch of PS5s on stream, IShowSpeed's sponsors showed off their game and cryptocurrency, saying it is bound to become "the biggest crypto coin in the world." The streamer's community, however, was not really on board as a series of copypastas started dissing it as a scam. The act left both the sponsors upset and they called on the streamer to close the chat.

While the stream itself had started to make the rounds on the internet, what happened next only amplified the accusations. Coffeezilla, a YouTuber whose content revolves around exposing crypto projects, confronted the alleged scammers.

The almost two-hour-long conversation was enough for Coffeezilla and a large number of people on the internet to be sure that the project was, at least, a Ponzi Scheme with its affiliate marketing strategies and get-rich-quick schemes.

Here is a clip from the stream where the YouTuber called out IShowSpeed's sponsors.

He said:

"I think what you guys are offering in terms of APY is a scam though and I think it's based on Ponzinomics."

He also called them out on the promises advertised on the website about getting as much as 100 times the returns. However, the project runners doubled down as Coffeezilla incredulously challenged them on the topic.

He continued:

"You shouldn't be advertising a 10x to a 100x ever. That is super irresponsible. That's the definition of a get-rich-quick scheme, right? Oh, I can dump money into something, get a 100x? How is that not a get-rich-quick scheme?"

Following the stream, the backlash against IShowSpeed intensified and the YouTuber took to Twitter to apologize for his mistake, saying he is not a scammer. He later also addressed the issue on stream while getting ready to play football.

Reiterating his love for the audience, he admitted that having the crypto organization on stream was not a smart move.

He said:

"I do so much stuff for you all bro. I made a mistake. You know, I'm not that smart I'm gonna be honest bro. But as I go, I get smarter and smarter. I made a little mistake, you know, that I wish I never did."

While this did satiate a lot of fans, some were still critical of IShowSpeed. As social media posts and videos calling him out continued to be published, the streamer decided to delete the VOD of the stream yesterday. This also sparked some controversy with popular streamers such as xQc reacting to the clip.

In the clip, IShowSpeed complained to his audience that he is in a dilemma because no matter what he does, people will call him a "bad" person.

He stated:

"I'm always the bad person, remember that bro. Everything I do, they always try to make me look bad. It's so dumb bro. It is lame. Seriously, Dawg. The stream's gone, now what?"

IShowSpeed has been mired in a number of controversies this year with the latest being the crypto scam and the Sky Sports scandal where the YouTuber's content was removed from the channel's official accounts.