Renowned YouTube sensation Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji, popularly known as “KSI,” is currently under scrutiny for alleged pump-and-dump activities in the crypto market. Crypto investigators ZachXBT and Coffeezilla have raised concerns after KSI reopened his old crypto-focused X account.
On February 14th, KSI revived his old X account, where he used to discuss crypto token investments. With approximately 371,000 followers, the internet celebrity posted a message to test the waters of his crypto-focused account.
Shortly after, crypto investigator ZachXBT commented on KSI’s post, suggesting that the YouTuber would resume sharing unreliable information. To support his claim, ZachXBT shared a screenshot of KSI’s post about his investment in the watch-to-earn project XCAD Network (XCAD), along with another screenshot showing KSI’s crypto wallet selling $850,000 worth of XCAD tokens.
ZachXBT also highlighted other instances where KSI posted about tokens and subsequently sold them. In 2021, KSI expressed enthusiasm for the nonfungible token (NFT)-focused project Ethernity Chain (ERN), but blockchain data revealed that he sold approximately $350,000 in ERN tokens shortly after.
YouTuber Stephen “Coffeezilla” Findeisen addressed this issue in a follow-up video, presenting KSI’s statements. According to KSI, he still holds some XCAD tokens and believes in the project’s potential to generate earnings through content viewing. He explained that he sold XCAD to invest in the now-collapsed Terra Luna Classic (LUNC), formerly known as LUNA.
KSI clarified that he had no malicious intent and attributed his questionable posts and subsequent selling to his inexperience and excitement about the crypto market. He claimed that whenever he tweeted something, the opposite would happen, which led him to “tweet the opposite” of his actual actions.
However, Coffeezilla argued that KSI’s public statements conflicting with his private actions align with the definition of a pump and dump scheme. Regardless of whether it was successful or not, Coffeezilla maintained that KSI’s behavior constituted a pump and dump. He expressed doubt that KSI was unaware of the positive impact his tweets would have on token prices.
It is worth noting that KSI is closely associated with fellow YouTuber Logan Paul, who is also embroiled in crypto-related controversies. Paul is currently facing a class-action lawsuit relating to the sale of an NFT collection called CryptoZoo, which promised a play-to-earn game that was never released. In an attempt to mitigate the situation, Paul offered to refund investors who waived any legal claims against him.
In summary, KSI’s involvement in alleged pump-and-dump activities has drawn attention from crypto investigators and raised concerns about his credibility in the crypto market.