Coffeezilla goes on Joe Rogan’s podcast to talk about crypto-related scams
During a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, aired on March 7, American podcast host Joe Rogan received YouTuber Stephen Findeisen, also known as Coffeezilla. During the podcast, Coffeezilla delved into the issue of celebrities endorsing crypto scams, either knowingly or unknowingly.
Covering the FTX debacle
The discussion centered around FTX, the crypto exchange that collapsed, and its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. Coffeezilla pointed out that the “social proof” from celebrity endorsements can be so overpowering that it can drown out any alarm bells.
Coffeezilla stated that numerous celebrities have given their strongest support to Sam, drawing a comparison to the Bernie Madoff scandal. The YouTuber suggested that if an ordinary individual observed many prominent figures investing in FTX, they might assume that they are joining a group of shrewd investors and decide to invest as well.
Speaking on Sam Bankman-Fried, Coffeezilla stated:
“First of all, it’s this guy who drives a Toyota, so you go like, ‘well, why does he need to scam me if he’s driving a Toyota?’ Then it’s like, ‘okay, Tom Brady backs him, Tom Brady’s got to have some guys who are looking into this,’ and then it’s like, ‘well, BlackRock backed him, BlackRock definitely has some guys who looked into it,’ right? And Sequoia Capital said he might be one of the first trillionaires, (…) they think he’s such a genius.”
NFT scam sponsored by Logan Paul
Coffeezilla and Rogan delved into the issue of accountability in similar circumstances. They specifically touched upon YouTuber Logan Paul’s purported scheme of defrauding investors in the Cryptozoo cryptocurrency venture.
After Coffeezilla uncovered the purported fraud, Paul threatened to sue him but eventually apologized and pledged to reimburse the investors. Despite this, Coffeezilla pointed out that there has been no further communication since then:
“What I’m ultimately looking for is some accountability from these guys. They’re happy to make money (…) from these different projects they’re spinning up, but the second accountability is asked for, you can’t reach them.”
Celebrities endorsing scams should be brought to justice
Coffeezilla, known to be an avid investigator of online scams, has uncovered several instances of fraudulent activities. These include the former CEO of Celsius, Alex Mashinsky, dumping CEL tokens across multiple crypto wallets, as well as an alleged conspiracy by NFT scammers, who could have potentially profited $20 million through a questionable project. Additionally, Coffeezilla highlighted SBF’s inadvertent description of a Ponzi scheme several months prior to its widely-publicized collapse.
In the course of the podcast, Rogan conveyed his apprehension that these fraudulent schemes were a type of manipulation, drawing a parallel to the storyline in the film “The Wolf of Wall Street.” He further observed that such scams would persist as long as individuals continued to be swindled by them.
The matter of celebrities endorsing fraudulent schemes is a contentious topic, with some contending that they should be held accountable for the repercussions of their actions. Nonetheless, there are others who maintain that it is not always evident whether these celebrities were aware that they were promoting scams or not.
