The FaZe Clan is the largest e-sports organization in the world when it comes to followers on social media, but the gaming clan is embroiled in a scandal over the cryptocurrency “Save the Kids.” The clan leader, Richard “Ricky” Bengston, known as FaZe Banks, distances himself from his members but is now facing criticism himself.
This is the situation:
- The FaZe Clan is the largest e-sports clan in the world. They recognized the potential of content creators early on, reaching millions of followers on YouTube and Twitch. On Twitter alone, they have over 4 million people following them.
- In early June, 4 members of the FaZe Clan promoted the cryptocurrency “Save The Kids” on their private social media accounts. This coin is suspected of being part of a “pump and dump” scam, where anyone who listened to the FaZe members lost money.
- The FaZe Clan has suspended the 4 members. The clan leader, FaZe Banks, condemns their behavior and distances himself from it. However, he has also advertised a similarly unsuccessful crypto coin: BankSocial (BSocial) was not a hit either.
Here’s why the 4 members were “suspended”: We have already reported on MeinMMO that 4 members of the FaZe Clan promoted the coin “Save the Kids”, including FaZe Jarvis, who has been permanently banned from Fortnite, and his older brother FaZe Kay. They acted as ambassadors for a coin that initially gained value but then rapidly fell.
The YouTuber “SomeOrdinaryGamer” raised the allegation: The coin could have been a scam following the “pump and dump” pattern.
In a “pump and dump,” insiders buy low, create hype, and sell the product at its peak, causing the price to fall rapidly and costing anyone who jumped on the hype train but missed the exit.
FaZe subsequently distanced itself from the 4 members, firing FaZe Kay and suspending the other three.
Clan leader Banks distances himself from the “Save the Kids” nonsense
This is what FaZe Banks says: The clan leader, Banks, has explicitly distanced himself from this incident. He claims he was not involved in the process at all and knew nothing of the “SaveTheKids nonsense.” The people “built the crap on their own”: If people had come to him, he would have ended the whole thing immediately.
No one is more upset about the events than the FaZe Clan itself. It is “embarrassing.”
Banks had also promoted a coin weeks earlier
These are the allegations against FaZe Banks: After Banks distanced himself from “Save the Kids,” allegations arose that he himself had promoted a similar coin called “BSocial” in a now-deleted tweet at the end of May. Banks then offered $10,000 to a user who follows the currency’s Twitter account and likes it.
Banks said: He is “heavily invested” and firmly believes that the coin will “pop,” meaning it will shoot up.
However, the coin “BSocial” has since lost significant value.
The accusation against Banks is, therefore, that while he distances himself from people, he himself has advertised a cryptocurrency that has lost significant value.
However, Banks rejects these allegations: He deleted the tweet only because it was a giveaway – he always deletes those.
He was never involved in a “pump and dump.” He is an open book; his portfolio is public. He still holds the currency in Bsocial that he purchased.
He hasn’t sold a single dollar of his investment.
“Expert” tip or paid advertisement: The result was the same
What’s behind it: FaZe Banks sees himself as an expert in cryptocurrency who wanted to do something good for his fans and give them a hot tip.
Nevertheless, his recommendation was also not a hit but performed similarly poorly to “Save the Kids”: the cryptocurrency that his clan members apparently made paid advertisements for.
This example shows how difficult and volatile the unregulated market of cryptocurrencies is. Even people who are seriously involved with it, like FaZe Banks, can be wrong. There is no safety there.
Gaming influencers have their expertise in Call of Duty, CS:GO, and creating YouTube videos: They should consider whether they want to use their credibility and risk giving investment tips.
The leader of the FaZe Clan shows business acumen, but not everything appears to be completely clean:
FaZe Banks claims he operated a CS:GO betting site from Antigua that made $200,000 a day
This example shows how difficult and volatile the unregulated market of cryptocurrencies is. Even people who are seriously involved with it, like FaZe Banks, can be wrong. There is no safety there.
Gaming influencers have their expertise in Call of Duty, CS:GO, and creating YouTube videos: They should consider whether they want to use their credibility and risk giving investment tips.
The leader of the FaZe Clan shows business acumen, but not everything appears to be completely clean:
FaZe Banks claims he operated a CS:GO betting site from Antigua that made $200,000 a day
