Shalini Nagarajan

<div id="highlights-block_62fb8177f85f9" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>In a video last year, Atozy called BitBoy a “shady dirtbag” who shouldn’t be offering financial advice</li>
 <li>BitBoy has previously been called out over getting paid for scam cryptocurrency promotions</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Ben Armstrong, a YouTube influencer who goes by the name ‘BitBoy Crypto,’ sued a fellow social media personality over defamatory claims that he scammed his audience by promoting an offbeat cryptocurrency.



In the lawsuit, reported by <a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/1520802" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Law360</a> on Monday, Armstrong alleged that the influencer Erling Mengshoel negatively impacted his business relations after releasing a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DibvroDcT88" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">November 2021 video</a> that scorns BitBoy for promoting scams and pumping micro-cap coins to fans.



Mengshoel — who goes by ‘Atozy’ on YouTube — says in the video that BitBoy has “been known for being a shady dirtbag who milks his audience for a quick buck rather than giving them genuine advice.”&nbsp;



He also claims Armstrong isn’t someone who should be offering financial advice because “you don’t know whether he’s trying to enrich you or himself,” and calls him out for talking up a washout cryptocurrency called Pamp.



That hasn’t sat well with Armstrong. He mentioned Atozy’s public dissing in his complaint, protesting against the use of phrases “shady dirtbag” and “dirtbag YouTuber.” Atozy’s video led viewers to believe Armstrong was paid by fraudsters to sell cryptocurrency to “suckers” willing to buy it, the complaint added.



Mengshoel also told viewers in the video that regulators were likely to probe such promotions, saying “it’s basically inevitable the SEC is going to get involved because dirtbags like this cannot resist the urge to take that quick buck and just milk their audience for some extra money.”



Armstrong alleges in his complaint that Atozy’s “attack piece” significantly impacted his business as the number of his followers reduced, damaged his reputation and caused him severe anxiety. He said he fears being “perceived as a felon, a fraud, and untrustworthy in business or in general.”



His lawsuit seeks general, compensatory and special damages for defamation, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, tortious interference with business and violations of Georgia’s Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and Fair Business Practice Act.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">BitBoy snubbed as hypeman by other commentators</h3>



Atozy isn’t the only one criticizing BitBoy’s cryptocurrency promotions. A widely-followed Twitter user ZachXBT once shared a <a href="https://twitter.com/zachxbt/status/1478082010807742468?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pamphlet</a> showing the influencer’s rates for reviews, livestream mentions, YouTube interviews and website articles.&nbsp;



A “dedicated review” was priced at $35,000, a screenshot of a media kit he shared with a potential client showed.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">1/ Let’s review all the direct scams Bitboy has worked with in the past. Just in case you forgot here is the flyer with how much he charges. I received this a while back by posing as a project interested in a promotion. 🧵 👇 <a href="https://t.co/FkC9HUDGsc">pic.twitter.com/FkC9HUDGsc</a>&mdash; ZachXBT (@zachxbt) <a href="https://twitter.com/zachxbt/status/1478082010807742468?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/myx-network/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MYX Network</a> and <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/distx/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DistX</a>, both of which have made no gains since 2020, are among the dubious cryptocurrency tokens he’s promoted, according to ZachXBT. Armstrong once labeled a video on DistX “my most trusted coin,” but later went on to revise the title.



Separately, the YouTuber was recently described as an “untrained investment adviser” in a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/07/24/crypto-advice-bitboy-armstrong/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Washington Post report</a> that highlighted his bad-mouthing of bankrupt lender Celsius after initially encouraging investors to deposit their money with the firm. 



He told The Post that he doesn’t personally own cryptocurrencies, and that the chief financial officer of BitBoy — a media enterprise with 70 employees — handles all crypto transactions for the firm in case of potential conflicts.



Armstrong’s lawyers from Krevolin &amp; Horst didn’t return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time. It isn’t clear who is representing Mengshoel.



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Atozy

Crypto YouTuber Sues Fellow Influencer Who Dubbed Him ‘Shady Dirtbag’

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_61f02195423f5" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>NFTs could be another revenue stream for YouTube creators, according to the CEO</li>
 <li>Shares of YouTube parent Alphabet Inc. traded 1.8% lower at time of publication</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



YouTube may incorporate non-fungible tokens onto its platform in the future, the video hosting platform’s CEO Susan Wojcicki said in a <a href="https://blog.youtube/inside-youtube/letter-susan-our-2022-priorities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">letter</a> on Tuesday.&nbsp;



“We’re always focused on expanding the YouTube ecosystem to help creators capitalize on emerging technologies, including things like NFTs, while continuing to strengthen and enhance the experiences creators and fans have on YouTube,” Wojcicki said.



Wojcicki said that Web3 has been “a source of inspiration” for YouTube, adding that NFTs and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) have the “unimaginable opportunity to grow the connection between creators and their fans.”&nbsp;



Colin Fitzpatrick, founder and CEO of Animal Concerts, a startup focused on virtual concerts in the metaverse, described the possible NFT integration as “a great way for creators to monetize their channels without needing to rely on advertising revenue.”



“If YouTube is going to facilitate NFTs on their platform, it is possible that demonetizing content creators is something they are forced into by their advertising partners,” Fitzpatrick told Blockworks. “Introducing NFTs could be a way for them to circumvent corporate interests and give their users alternative methods to generate revenue.”



Indeed, YouTube&#8217;s CEO said NFTs could be another form of revenue for creators. She did not, however, provide additional details or specify a timeline.&nbsp;



The letter follows closely on the heels of Twitter’s <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/twitter-integrates-nfts-with-new-profile-picture-feature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announcement </a>of supporting verified NFT profile pictures. Users of the company’s Twitter Blue subscription service can link ether-based wallets to their account and display their NFTs as profile pictures.&nbsp;



Shares of YouTube’s parent company Alphabet Inc. were trading 1.84% lower at $2,567.99 at the time of publication.


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