Investigating MrBeast

Introduction and Initial Allegations

• MrBeast was recently accused of making $23 million through insider trading and scams, prompting an investigation into the matter (0s).
• The investigation involved reaching out to researchers, crypto projects, and MrBeast himself to gather information (11s).
• The story is more complicated than initially thought, and it's unclear whether MrBeast crossed the line from "shady" to "illegal scam" (16s).
• The investigation's findings may be perceived differently depending on one's opinion of MrBeast, with fans likely to find explanations and scapegoats, while critics may see unethical behavior and abuse of fame for money (33s).

Investigative Background and Sources

• MrBeast's team declined to fact-check or comment on the investigation's questions, instead providing a statement (53s).
• The investigator has a history with MrBeast, having interviewed and spoken positively about him in the past, but also has a conflict of interest due to a lawsuit from MrBeast's co-founder (1m5s).
• The allegations against MrBeast come from two sources: an investigation by S xbt and a group of five people who investigated MrBeast's profits from "scams, shady deals, and his network" (1m31s).

Details of Alleged Scams and Shady Deals

• The S xbt investigation claims MrBeast made $10 million by backing low-cap crypto tokens that are now down 90% (1m33s).
• The second investigation found $23 million in profits from MrBeast's alleged scams and shady deals (1m45s).

The Super Project Controversy

• Some allegations, such as MrBeast's involvement in the Poly Chain Monsters project, are disputed due to lack of concrete evidence (2m6s).
• Other allegations, such as MrBeast's investment in the Super project, are better supported by evidence, including leaked screenshots and wallet transactions (3m19s).
• MrBeast is alleged to have made over $10 million from the Super project, which is considered problematic due to his influential status and public association with the project (3m48s).
• MrBeast interacted with the Super project twice, first on March 3rd, 2021, and then on May 12th, 2021, when the founder of the project tweeted about a gym sitting on the market at eye-watering prices set to explode during the DeFi summer 2.0 (3m53s).
• MrBeast's response to the tweet was "super," but he didn't disclose that he had already purchased a huge stake in Super and was selling tokens, allegedly selling around $200,000 worth of tokens in the 72 hours after the May 12th tweet (4m12s).
• MrBeast was accused of selling tokens while publicly signaling that Super was an undervalued coin, but he denied the accusations through a spokesman, stating that the investments were made and managed in consultation with industry experts to ensure full compliance with all appropriate rules and regulations (5m9s).
• The spokesman claimed that the wallet in question was not owned or managed by Jimmy (MrBeast), but rather a fund led by respected and sophisticated managers, which closely evaluated and scrutinized hundreds of opportunities (5m16s).
• MrBeast denied doing any of the trading or managing the trading and blamed it on the fund, but the spokesman did not respond to follow-up questions about the name of the fund, the industry experts, and the rules and regulations followed (5m41s).

Unraveling MrBeast's Crypto Wallet Management

• The spokesman, Matthew Hilk, is a well-known crisis management consultant, and online clues suggest that Jason Williams, a crypto expert and author of a book on Bitcoin, may be involved in the wallet, as he has tweeted about CryptoPunks and has ties to the same wallet (6m2s).
• Jason Williams is followed by MrBeast on Twitter and has been seen wearing a Wuang Clan shirt, and his brand name, Going Parabolic, is owned by the same MrBeast wallet, suggesting that he may be involved in the wallet (6m40s).
• MrBeast discussed CryptoPunks in a podcast with Logan Paul, where he mentioned that he and Logan both bought punks, which complicates the investigation into the wallet's activities (7m30s).
• MrBeast received a call from Gary V at 11:00 p.m. with 30 people on the line, including Logan and other heavy hitters worth a billion dollars, where Gary V talked about CryptoPunks and how it's going to be huge, leading MrBeast to buy multiple CryptoPunks (7m53s).
• MrBeast later sold some of the CryptoPunks and rolled the money into V Friends, another project recommended by Gary V (9m15s).
• It appears that sometimes MrBeast tells Jason what to buy for the fund, as evidenced by the CryptoPunks owned by the wallet controlled by Jason (8m58s).
• MrBeast talks about CryptoPunks and V Friends as personal investments, and on Twitter, he says he bought CryptoPunks and loaded up on V Friends (9m32s).
• Jason Williams was involved in the trading or management of MrBeast's crypto wallet, as he thanked Gary V for the V Friends gift (9m49s).
• MrBeast made some decisions regarding the trading, but the extent of his involvement is unclear (10m3s).

The Super Project Pre-Sale and Subsequent Events

• MrBeast set up a pre-sale for Super and made a tweet about it, but it's unclear if Jason was involved in the trading or if MrBeast knew about it (10m28s).
• The founder of Super, elot Trades, stated that MrBeast's tweet was not part of a deal for promotion, but he was upset with how pre-sale investors, including MrBeast, sold their tokens (10m53s).
• MrBeast allegedly made $1 million from the deal, which has raised concerns about his involvement in the project (11m27s).

The NN Project and Charity Auction Controversy

• MrBeast's team claims they never spoke directly to the team at NN, instead communicating with his fund manager, and that MrBeast's fund was an early investor in their pre-sale with the same unlock schedule as everyone else (11m45s).
• The team at NN expressed dissatisfaction with the way MrBeast sold the tokens but stated that there was nothing they could have done legally (12m7s).
• MrBeast commented on the project, saying "this one will be hype," about 24 hours after his fund wallet purchased over $100,000 of earn tokens in addition to the pre-sale (12m19s).
• MrBeast's name was publicly listed on the Aity Chain website as both an investor and a partner, as he participated in the pre-sale and partnered with the earn team for an NFT drop (12m38s).
• The NFT drop was supposedly a charity drop, with all proceeds going towards cleaning up the seas around the world, and was supported by MrBeast, with earn and eth tokens being accepted for the charity auction (13m6s).
• One month into the two-month charity auction, the Rocket Fund, or MrBeast's fund, started selling huge amounts of the earn token, allegedly selling over $2 million while the charity was still ongoing (13m41s).
• The NFT auction ultimately flopped, with only one NFT appearing to have sold, and the actual sale of the NFT didn't happen until after the fund sold on November 30th (15m12s).
• The earn team stated that they listed MrBeast as a partner and that he knew or should have known that his name was on the line for this investment and partnership (14m47s).
• MrBeast did not respond to requests for comment, other than stating that he did not control the trading of the tokens (15m39s).
• MrBeast's fund made millions of dollars in profits by selling the same Earn token that people could bid on for a charity, which is considered to be in poor taste, especially given MrBeast's reputation as a charity supporter (15m58s).

The XCAD Token Pre-Sale and Aftermath

• MrBeast was involved in the pre-sale of the XCAD token, but unlike his business partner KSI, he did not promote it heavily on Twitter (16m33s).
• The involvement of MrBeast in the XCAD pre-sale generated excitement among investors due to his reputation and the potential for Creator tokens (16m52s).
• The affiliations of MrBeast and KSI with these projects can impact people's buying decisions, as they anticipate further involvement and assume that the celebrities are long-term holders (17m12s).
• Despite the expectations of investors, MrBeast's fund sold a significant amount of XCAD tokens early in 2021, rather than holding them, which was surprising to the founder of XCAD, Oliver Bell (17m50s).
• Oliver Bell claims that MrBeast's team initially stated that they would not flip the tokens quickly, but later sold a large amount of XCAD tokens, damaging the project (18m26s).
• Oliver Bell expressed his disappointment and concern about the potential damage to MrBeast's reputation due to his team's actions, but MrBeast did not respond to his messages (18m51s).
• Oliver Bell believes that MrBeast is not a bad person, but rather someone who has genuine interest in the projects he invests in (19m23s).

Analysis of MrBeast's Crypto Team's Actions and Unanswered Questions

• The crypto team handling MrBeast's (Jimmy's) cryptocurrency is believed to have seen an opportunity to make millions of dollars using his valuable brand and took it, making millions in the process, but also doing some shady things along the way (19m37s).
• There are unanswered questions about MrBeast's involvement in the selling of the super token on May 12th and the charity auction on November 30th, including whether he knew about the selling and if he was warned by Oliver Bell (19m57s).
• MrBeast's team cannot or will not give more than a heavily lawyered statement through a crisis management consultant, which takes zero accountability despite knowing every major allegation (20m27s).
• The statement from MrBeast's team does not mention selling tokens while he was tweeting about the super token or selling tokens a month after partnering with a charity auction, making the statement feel hollow (20m46s).
• MrBeast's fund trades on his name, getting into pre-sales based on his name, and he tweets from his public account, but when things go south, they claim no liability (21m18s).

The CryptoPunks Investment and Gary Vee's Influence

• A clip from the Crypt Punk podcast is mentioned, where MrBeast talks about Gary Vee's great Crypt Punk call, and how MrBeast defends Gary Vee's call, saying it wasn't just the call that made the market (22m1s).
• MrBeast questions whether Gary Vee's call was right because of the call itself, suggesting that the call may have made the market due to the influence of the billionaires involved (22m28s).
• There are limitations to the influence of a small group of people, as there is a larger market that will continue to operate regardless, with only about 30 people on a call being able to own and do so much (22m48s).
• The involvement of influential people in projects can contribute to their success, but it is unclear whether the project's success is due to the influential people or other factors (23m4s).
• MrBeast tweeted about Cryptopunks on the same day he bought them in February 2021, which is how his wallet was discovered, and it is also known that someone else was involved in the purchase (23m17s).

Attributing the Success of MrBeast's Investments

• The success of MrBeast's investments, such as Cryptopunks, may be attributed to either the genius of Jason Williams or the influence of the MrBeast brand, which is one of the most valuable brands in the world (23m33s).
• The involvement of MrBeast's name in various projects may have been the key factor in securing great deals, attracting attention, and increasing the value of the projects (23m41s).
• Ultimately, it is up to the individual to decide whether the success of MrBeast's investments is due to his personal genius or the influence of his brand (23m58s).