On-chain investigator ZachXBT has accused top crypto influencer Professor Crypto of using bots to manipulate his social media metrics.
Following the allegations, the crypto influencer has deactivated his account without giving a response to the public.
Fake Engagement Strategies
In a post on X, the on-chain sleuth addressed the Youtuber, telling him to “lay off the thousands of bots” used on his social media platforms to “deceive people into thinking you have an influence.”
He also implied that this behavior could violate a United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule prohibiting the sale or purchase of fake social media influence, including followers or views generated by bots or hijacked accounts.
Professor Crypto, known for his 1.34 million YouTube subscribers, has not responded publicly to the accusations. However, he has reportedly deactivated his X account after receiving a community note calling him out for “employing fake engagement strategies” and hiding several replies, including ZachXBT’s, from his posts.
The influencer also removed several posts showing him accepting the “Best Content Creator” award at the DeGen Summit in Singapore on September 17. The event, a side affair of TOKEN2049, celebrated “Key Opinion Leaders” (KOLs), individuals whose opinions are influential within the crypto industry.
His YouTube channel, where he reviews cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets, meme coins, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), has been active since August 2018. Meanwhile, his now-deactivated X account, created in February 2018, had 132,000 followers but only 102 posts, with the earliest dating back to August 14, 2018.
FTC Violation and Community Reactions
Community members on X have raised further concerns. Acerbic crypto commentator NewsyJohnson claimed to have “zero mutuals” with Professor Crypto and accused him of having bots follow, like, and comment on his content, adding, “I don’t think he has any human following.”
Others, like NFT artist Matthew Varnell, questioned his credibility, saying, “Who the hell is Professor Crypto?” Laurence Day, co-founder of Wildcat Labs, noted, “I have been here longer than the stars have burned, and I have precisely one mutual with this account (someone I added within the last week).”
The incident comes soon after an FTC decision in August to ban marketers from using fake reviews or other misleading practices, including AI-generated content, to promote products and services.
In a statement quoted by CNBC, FTC Chair Lina Khan said at the time that fake reviews “waste people’s time and money” and distort the marketplace. The rule also prohibits companies from exaggerating their influence by paying for bots to inflate follower counts.