Over two years after promising a groundbreaking crypto game that never materialized, YouTube star Logan Paul has launched a long-awaited buyback program to reimburse disappointed investors who purchased digital assets for the vaporware project.
Keypoints
- Logan Paul launched an NFT project called CryptoZoo in 2021 that was supposed to be a play-to-earn game where people could buy, sell, and breed digital animals
- The game never materialized even though people spent millions of dollars buying NFTs to use in the planned game
- In January 2023, Logan Paul promised to refund investors but hadn’t followed through yet
- On January 4, 2024, Logan Paul announced a $2.3 million buyback program to reimburse people who bought CryptoZoo NFTs
- To get the refund, people have to waive any legal claims against Logan Paul related to CryptoZoo
In August 2021, Logan Paul introduced CryptoZoo, a play-to-earn game conceptualized around NFTs representing exotic virtual animals. He promoted it to his millions of followers as a lucrative crypto project with real potential, drawing comparisons to Pokémon. His endorsements generated substantial hype and over $6.7 million worth of “Base Egg” NFTs were sold, which investors hoped to hatch into profitable virtual creatures.
Today, I am incredibly happy to announce that I am delivering on my promise to buy back Base Egg and Base Animal CryptoZoo NFTs for their original purchase price. This buy-back program is being carried out at https://t.co/XIQzLAGKiG. Claims can be submitted through this site… pic.twitter.com/VMPDHvdXkq
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) January 4, 2024
But the ambitious crypto game never launched. By January 2023, with CryptoZoo unraveling and investors growing uneasy, Logan Paul publicly pledged to refund participants. Yet months passed without investors receiving compensation, eventually prompting legal action from an aggrieved token-holder against Paul and his partners.
Now, Paul has allocated $2.3 million of his personal wealth to initiate a CryptoZoo buyback program, allowing investors to recoup some of their unsuccessful bets on the defunct NFT initiative. Each eligible Base Egg and Base Animal NFT can be exchanged for 0.1 Ether, valued around $224.
However, there’s a catch – participants must sign legal releases protecting Logan Paul from any claims related to CryptoZoo in order to receive their partial refunds. Additionally, while Logan says his promotions didn’t earn him any money, he shifted blame for the project’s troubles onto two lead CryptoZoo developers, filing a cross-claim lawsuit alleging they sabotaged and stole from the endeavor.
The controversy spotlights risks in the hype-driven world of NFT gaming before products launch. But Logan Paul’s buyback gesture, even if self-serving, does indicate some responsibility for failed promises that harmed credulous investors trusting his endorsement. For crypto projects boasting involvement from influential backers, it seems legally binding commitments could help bring accountability when plans don’t pan out.
