Internet personality and wrestler Logan Paul made an announcement today on X that detailed a buy-back program for CryptoZoo NFT project participants and a new lawsuit against his two co-creators.
The influencer wrote that he plans to personally put in over $2.3 million to buy back Base Eggs and Base Animals NFTs from “every person who intended to play” the CryptoZoo game, which never came to fruition. NFT holders can submit claims online until Feb. 8, he noted.
CryptoZoo debuted in 2021 with plans to launch a game based on NFTs of animals. With extensive promotion on YouTube and podcasts on behalf of Paul, the project gained hype and raised millions.
However, doubts surfaced surrounding the project’s viability. YouTuber Stephen “Coffeezilla” Findeisen, who owns over 3 million subscribers on the platform, accused the project of being a scam and Paul not paying his developers. In January 2023, Paul promised that he would refund CryptoZoo NFT buyers.
ZOO, the Ethereum-based token associated with the project, appears not to be a part of the buy-back. “The buy-back is not intended to compensate those who gambled on the crypto market and lost,” Paul wrote. “It’s important to remember that the Zoo Token was created to support the CryptoZoo game and its players; it was ‘not intended as an investment vehicle,’ as outlined in the original WhitePaper.”
To be eligible for the buy-back, claimants must agree to waive any actual or anticipated claims against Paul, the online form’s terms and conditions noted.
Some purchasers of CryptoZoo NFTs on the Discord channel “CryptoZoo Victims” appear dubious of Paul’s compensation plan. “I missed out on giving my info to help the [lawsuit]. I’m not heavily invested like some here but prefer to get my money back,” wrote one Discord channel user.
Filing crossclaim
Paul also said in his X post that he filed a crossclaim on Thursday against Eduardo Ibanez and Jake “CryptoKing” Greenbaum — whom Paul claims as key developers of the project.
“I have filed a lawsuit in federal court in Texas to hold these bad actors accountable,” Paul said in the post. “This lawsuit is the result of an exhaustive investigation that included the review of the entirety of conversations and tracking nefarious trading activity related to the project.”
In February 2023, Logan Paul, Ibanez, Greenbaum and other affiliates of CryptoZoo were accused of rug-pulling NFT buyers in a class-action lawsuit. In the Jan. 4 legal filing that Paul linked in his X post, he denied the fraud charges brought against him.
Meanwhile, the influencer noted that the NFT game at issue will not be released, claiming that there are “too many regulatory hurdles” despite having spent $400,000 of his own money on the project.
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