Crypto influencer Jaypeg is facing controversy after being accused of promoting the “Uptober” memecoin project. The Uptober team claims that it made an agreement with Jaypeg for him to advertise their token in exchange for 2% of the total supply amounting to approximately $2,200.
The team claims that Jaypeg accepted the offer in a Telegram chat and had received his tokens, but later deleted the wallet addresses from the chat claiming that the address was random and didn’t belong to him. Shortly afterwards, the team sees that the tokens were sold suspecting Jaypeg had sold his portion without doing the agreed promotion.
To validate their suspicions, the Uptober group reached out to the renowned blockchain investigator ZackXBT. The investigator found evidence against the claims made by Jaypeg. Based on ZackXBT, the airdrops wallet address of the Solana Saga telephone on 10 January 2024 happened to be that of “8jpz1p.” This was hours after Jaypeg uploaded an unboxing video for his Solana Saga telephone and discussed the airdrops.
Jaypeg Denies Allegations Amid Rising Evidence
Despite the accumulated evidence that this person is guilty, Jaypeg keeps asserting that he is innocent. The wallet address that was shared in the Telegram group belonged to someone who was a random stranger according to Jaypeg. This, he claims, is what prompted him to delete the messages. Jaypeg has also accused the Uptober team of blackmailing him.
In a move to clear the air, Jaypeg made a public apology and reportedly donated $2,000 to the very worthy cause of The Turtle Foundation, a conservation charity. That has done little to calm the controversy.
The accident has reignited the debate over influencer responsibilities in the crypto world, especially as far as memecoins go. Memecoins have emerged strongly this cycle. As Forbes puts it, some experts are forecasting the arrival of a “memecoin supercycle,” which might peak by the end of 2025. More than 633,000 new tokens have been launched on the Solana network alone since September 19, according to Step Finance.
The Jaypeg case has exposed some of the dangers of influencer-backed projects. Several studies have shown that a few influencers use social tactics to exploit followers’ status desire. After the allegations, Jaypeg has hidden his accounts on all his social media, bringing further distrust to his credibility. The Uptober team and ZackXBT have, therefore encouraged the crypto community to be more careful concerning influencers they trust with their money.
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