MrBeast Involved in Alleged Insider Trading Crypto Operations, Generating $23 Million in Profits
An investigation conducted by Loock.io suggests that influencer James Stephen Donaldson, also known as MrBeast, is involved in alleged illegal crypto trading operations, resulting in an estimated total of $23 million in profits.
The investigation reveals a complex network of transactions involving over 50 different wallets. Analysts were able to establish a link between these wallets through a publicly known Ethereum wallet used by MrBeast for the purchase of Cryptopunks NFTs. This network allows the influencer and his associates to acquire tokens, promote them to millions of subscribers, and quickly sell them for substantial profits.
Specific Tokens and Associated Profits
The investigation documents reveal that the tokens used in these transactions include specific assets:
- SuperVerse (SUPER), which generated a total of $11.45 million in profits. An initial investment of $100,000 allowed MrBeast to pocket approximately $7.5 million, with additional gains from associated wallets.
- Ethernity Chain (ERN), for which MrBeast secured an allocation in the pre-sale. The YouTuber then transferred half of these tokens to address 0x2eB7 and the other half to 0x9b00, resulting in a total profit of $4.65 million.
- Polkamon (PMON), where an initial investment of $25,000 turned into $1.3 million.
- STAK and AIOZ, yielding $1.31 million and $1 million, respectively.
All of these transactions followed the same pattern: acquiring tokens in the initial phase, promoting them through the influencer network, and quickly selling them once their value increased.
Our investigation revealed striking similarities in the activities of MrBeast, KSI, LazarBeam, and Alex Becker, most of whom collaborated with MrBeast on YouTube. Analysis of the cryptocurrency chain shows that they also participated in several of the same projects.
This indicates that they may have had privileged information about promotions and opportunities before the public was aware, allowing MrBeast to achieve significant gains from strategic investments alone.
Pump and Dump, Insider Trading: On-Chain Analysis of MrBeast’s Crypto Trading
On-chain analyses conducted by Loock.io and observations from independent analysts like ZachXBT revealed coordinated movements and transaction flows between MrBeast’s network of wallets. These wallets, connected through frequent transfers of tokens and funds, form a web that investigators can use to track accumulated gains and capital outflows, confirming potential insider trading practices. For example, tokens acquired in pre-sales were coordinatedly transferred between wallets before being liquidated, maximizing profits without triggering immediate alerts.
The Strategy Behind Token Promotions
The investigation also details the mechanisms behind the promotion and sale of these tokens, which relied on endorsements from MrBeast and several other prominent influencers, including KSI. Social media posts, particularly on Twitter and Instagram, helped generate massive interest in tokens like SUPER and PMON, creating exploitable liquidity spikes. By orchestrating sales immediately after these promotional periods, the network avoided negative effects on the prices of their own assets while maximizing profits.
