Soulja Boy Faces Crypto Backlash Over Past Promotions

The core of the criticism lies in a documented pattern of behavior. According to a 2023 investigation by crypto sleuth ZachXBT, Soulja Boy, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was linked to a staggering 73 cryptocurrency promotions and 16 separate NFT projects that were later identified as scams. Over the period reviewed, the rapper allegedly earned more than $730,000 from these promotional activities. This history forms the backbone of the current backlash, suggesting a sustained involvement rather than isolated incidents.

Analytics firm Bubblemaps recently mocked the rapper’s attempt at clarification, sarcastically outlining a timeline of his actions. According to their account, Soulja Boy promoted ‘dozens of scam tokens’ during the 2021 bull market, made ‘easy money,’ and then watched the assets ‘go to zero’ before disappearing from the scene. The platform alleges that after a four-year hiatus, he returned to launch meme coins on the PumpFun platform, which also subsequently crashed. This narrative paints a picture of a cyclical approach to celebrity crypto endorsements.

In a bid to address the growing controversy, Soulja Boy recently posted on social media platform X to clarify his role. He claimed he had no knowledge that notorious celebrity meme coin promoter Sahil Arora was involved or paying him to promote anything fraudulent. The rapper stated he was conducting paid promotions at the time without fully understanding the crypto and NFT space, apologized to investors who suffered losses, and noted that ‘growth is learning from mistakes.’

This apology has been met with widespread skepticism. Bubblemaps highlighted that after being exposed, Soulja Boy blocked their account on X before attempting to ‘come clean.’ Critics, including many in the crypto community, argue that even if the rapper was unaware of specific fraudulent activities, the repeated pattern of promoting high-risk projects that consistently collapse demonstrates a reckless disregard for his followers. The act of blaming a single promoter like Sahil Arora is seen as an inadequate explanation for a multi-year history involving dozens of projects.

This is not Soulja Boy’s first entanglement with controversial crypto promotions. In 2022, he was named alongside other high-profile figures like Nick Carter, Ben Phillips, and Lil Yachty in a lawsuit related to the failed SafeMoon cryptocurrency project. The plaintiffs accused the celebrities of attracting investors through deceptive promotions, highlighting a legal dimension to the risks of celebrity endorsements in the largely unregulated digital asset space.

The ongoing Soulja Boy controversy underscores a persistent and damaging issue within cryptocurrency: the misuse of celebrity influence. Promotions from trusted public figures can drive significant, often inexperienced, investment into projects with little fundamental value, frequently leading to substantial losses when the ‘pump and dump’ cycle concludes. Analysts warn that such behavior, whether born of ignorance or intent, erodes mainstream trust in the entire crypto ecosystem, making it harder for legitimate projects to gain traction and reinforcing the sector’s reputation for risk and speculation.