As cryptocurrencies and NFTs continue to dominate the viral space, influencers are jumping at the chance to invest. David Dobrik is the newest influencer to dip his toe in the NFT world.
Last week, David took to his Instagram stories to promote Bored Bunny NFT, a PFP (otherwise known as profile picture) project. The influencer was one of the many celebrity promoters, with DJ Khaled, Jake Paul, Floyd Mayweather, and Chantel Jeffries also involved.
David has since found himself in hot water, with many internet users and stakeholders alleging that the project is a rug pull – that is, when the founders of an NFT jump ship shortly after receiving funds.
With a supply of 4999 NFTs, the collection quickly sold out. The Bored Bunny team has allegedly made “$7.5m (2000 ETH) & $3m (916 ETH) in secondary fees to date.”
Twitter user, @zachxbt – an internet sleuth that investigates influencers and NFTs – called out David for promoting and supporting a $6 million scam.
The user went on to create a thread outlining Bored Bunny’s suspicious behaviour.
From banning members on Discord, to getting celebrities unfamiliar with NFTs to promote the product, “from the start, there were many red flags,” @zachxbt tweeted.
The account’s tweets caught the attention of NFT enthusiast and influencer, FaZe Banks. Responding to @zachxbt‘s tweet with a screenshot of his messages with the Bored Bunny Team, Banks revealed that he was offered six figures to promote the NFT. He went on to criticise influencers like David, who promote projects without researching and educating themselves on the NFT and crypto space.
“They offered me “$500k-$750k” upfront for a story post/ follow. I think it’s worth noting that I didn’t make this mistake only because I’ve taken the time to educate myself,” Banks tweeted. “A lot of these influencers take deals brought to them by their management/ treated as a product campaign.”
David has yet to address the “scam” himself, but Banks took to his Instagram story last week, saying that he appeared on the VIEWS podcast with David, Jason Nash and Natalie Mariduena.
While the episode has yet to be released, Banks revealed that “[Bored Bunny] approached David and offered him somewhere in the ballpark of $100,000.”
Confirming that David is “ready and willing to redistribute that money back into the ecosystem,” possibly through paying back Bored Bunny holders, the YouTube star is hoping to “make good for his misstep in the space.”
Here’s to hoping influencers stop promoting NFT scams!