Ben Armstrong wasn’t BitBoy, did anyone else know that? On Monday, it BitBoy appears to have mastered the art of drawing negative attention, as evidenced by his misguided libel lawsuit against YouTuber Atozy and his charges of plagiarism and intellectual property theft.
In her initial reaction video, headlined as it were “INSANE drama BITBOY leaves crypto?,” fellow YouTuber Wendy seemed to support the idea that the putsch to oust Armstrong isn’t a settled tale. “WARNING: Bitcoin.” Oh, the mystery. I’m sure there will be a dozen different versions of the story in due time, especially given that gossip is up when markets are down on Crypto Twitter (it’s a sort of speculating, innit).
For instance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was mentioned more than once. It is possible that Armstrong broke one of the SEC’s regulations, such as the one about always “disclosing when you’re a paid promoter” that brought in Kim Kardashian.
Although there isn’t currently an over/under wager on a potential securities violation lawsuit on Polymarket, there are undoubtedly a number of initiatives that BitBoy has supported, advertised, or that have raised red flags.
For instance, in the beginning of 2022, cryptocurrency investigator ZachXBT collected a list of numerous cryptocurrencies that BitBoy mentioned in videos. These coins nearly universally ran into the ground well before the bottom fell out of the overall cryptocurrency market, contrary to what Armstong implied would happen when he said they would trade up 100 times. Strangely, a lot of Armstrong’s YouTube uploads on these short-lived, grab the opportunity while it lasts coins have been taken down.
The fact that this game wasn’t just played during the bull market, when it appeared like everyone and their mother had tokens to sell you, makes it worse in my opinion. Armstrong started promoting the aforementioned $BEN token, an ICO-like token that aims to improve crypto literacy, a few months ago. Its 40% price decline at the time of writing is sufficient evidence that its value proposition is an affinity for Armstrong, rather than a hazy promise to release additional introductory blockchain content.
On the project website bearing his name, Armstrong is not mentioned as an executive, advisor, or “community ambassador”; instead, the $BEN Coin Collective YouTube link reroutes to BitBoy’s previous channel. Curiously, BenCoin’s suggested resolution for the crypto media includes outlawing what many consider to be Armstrong’s main source of income: Paid advertising
The conflict was brought on by Ben’s relapse into substance misuse, according to Ben’s previous employer Hit Network, and his firing was an effort to “reconcile the emotional, physical, and financial damage he has done to the employees…and the Bitboy Crypto community.” BitBoy’s sobriety has previously been called into doubt; if accurate, this would be both tragic and helpful in understanding some of his prior conduct.
I wish him luck getting healthier.
And with that, we reach the thesis statement for the essay: There is basically nothing that the world could learn about Armstrong or his former organization that would cause the majority of the crypto sector to think less highly of him. He embodies everything that is repulsive about crypto. He is a blockchain true believer who, by reportedly running a “payto-play” organization, undermines the potential good that blockchain could do.
He also seems like a megalomaniac. Armstrong has been caught on camera yelling at conference attendees, is renowned for harboring bitter grudges, and is unable to take even the least hint of criticism. He professes to stand up for The Everyman against wealthy interests in cryptocurrency, and for a while he believed that by attacking Sam BankmanFried, he had done everything in his power to bring down FTX.
This is a contributing factor in BitBoy’s apparent determination to make a comeback, as evidenced by his recent taunt to his old colleagues, “Until they can clone me, I have nothing to worry about.” In the end, I’m still no closer to comprehending BitBoy as a name, the person who goes by that name, or a persona that might be transmitted.
By allowing true ownership of social media profiles and the like, which are typically held by faceless businesses and all-too-familiar tech billionaires, blockchain, of course, fills in the holes left by the current digital era. Because of their designers’ belief that the market should judge who is “good” or “bad,” what is in or what is out of bounds, anyone, anywhere can use Bitcoin or Ethereum.
was revealed that Armstrong, the host of BitBoy Crypto, one of the most popular cryptocurrency trading shows in the market, had been abruptly fired. Additionally, it appears that Arrmstrong will lose the name and brand he founded in the divorce.
This is kind of like learning that Pee-wee Herman never existed and that all he was was a middle-aged man who became well-known for the playhouse he frequented, only much less adorable. One of the most well-known and probably the most despised trade gurus in the game was BitBoy, er, Armstrong.
