Kanye West, now known as Ye, has revealed that he turned down a $2 million offer to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme. The rapper and entrepreneur shared the revelation in a Feb. 7 post on X, exposing the details of the scam and his refusal to participate.
According to West, the scheme involved him posting a fraudulent crypto promotion to his 32.6 million followers. As part of the deal, he would later claim that his account had been hacked, allowing scammers to make millions before victims realized the deception.
West’s post included a screenshot detailing the offer, an upfront payment of $750,000 to publish the post and keep it live for eight hours, followed by an additional $1.25 million payout after 16 hours.
“I was proposed 2 million dollars to scam my community. Those left of it. I said no and stopped working with their person who proposed it,” West wrote on X.
Shortly after exposing the scam, West posted another screenshot of a private conversation, where he requested the name of a trusted contact in the crypto industry. One response said that Coinbase Chief Executive Brian Armstrong was a close contact for West and offered to get his phone number.
West appears to be delving deeper into cryptocurrency given that he had also published statements about wanting crypto without intermediaries. He hasn’t made it clear if he has reached out to Armstrong yet.
This has, of course, given rise to speculation about him launching his crypto project. Some, such as Crypto Vic, believe he is building hype for an upcoming album. Other suggestions, including one from analyst Armeanio, are urging him to sell his merch in cryptocurrency instead of crafting a memecoin.
West has a troubled history with cryptocurrency. In 2014, he filed a lawsuit to derail “Coinye,” a meme coin that appropriated his name and likeness without authorization. Though he previously opposed the sector, he now seems to be interacting with the crypto world on his own terms.
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