On-chain researcher ZachXBT has accused well-known influencer Ansem of running a pump-and-dump memecoin scam in the latest crypto controversy. The conflict started after the statement of prominent cryptocurrency personality Murad Mahmudov sparked the discussion about the rise of meme coins in the current market cycle.
A firestorm erupted on Twitter when Mechanism Capital’s Andrew Kang suggested that Mahmudov’s speech had sparked a new wave of criticism. memecoin investments. Then ZachXBT stepped in and things quickly got heated.
It seems like @MustStopMurad‘s talk at Token2049 has catalyzed the next wave of capital reallocation to memecoins
Popcat appears to be one of the beneficiaries of these capital flows – now in price research
Ready to join the 4 greats of this cycle – BONK, WIF, PEPE,… pic.twitter.com/MLap3FwbZ9
– Andrew Kang (@Rewkang) October 5, 2024
The Dark Side of Memecoin Promotion
ZachXBT not a single blow was thrown. He accused major influencers like Ansem of repeatedly pumping new low-cap memecoins because they have no real trading skills. According to Zach, they only use their followers to make a quick profit. When someone with more than 500,000 followers talks about a small crypto project, the price can skyrocket. But once they stop talking about it, the price often collapses again, leaving mainstream investors with worthless tokens.
It’s definitely the guy who blew up his fund in March 2020 with his own token that’s down 80% in the last year and focused on promoting ‘pump and dumps’.
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) October 5, 2024
Crypto influencer fires back
Ansem didn’t want to know anything about it. In defense of himself, he claimed it was about minors cryptocurrency initiatives are completely acceptable. He even boasted about his work with WIF, a memecoin that grew in value from $100,000 to $5 billion. Still, it didn’t take long for Zach to remind him of the countless other coins he’d advertised that turned out to be worthless.
The bigger picture
This fight isn’t just about two guys arguing on Twitter. It shows a real problem in the crypto world. Influencers have enormous power to move markets, especially for smaller cryptocurrencies. While some say they’re just giving people what they want (memecoins are super popular right now, after all), others worry they’re taking advantage of their followers.
ZachXBT describes its role as exposing fraud to people and helping them recover stolen money. ZachXBT is one of the better known bad guy trackers in crypto, and also warns about dangerous investments, and that Ansem is focused on potential profits, noting that he has helped people far more than he has hurt them by introducing trading opportunities offer.
The debate raises difficult questions about what is right and wrong in crypto promotion. When does sharing investment ideas cross the line into manipulation? It is especially difficult because the crypto market is not as regulated as the traditional financial sector.
As the argument began to die down, Ansem made a final attempt to say the last word, stating that Zach was “exaggerating” and that they could “go back and forth with memes all day.” But at this point the damage had already been done. This thread pulled back the curtain on the sometimes murky world of crypto influencers and the power these influencers wield over investment decisions among their believers.
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView