Earlier today, the Twitter handle @NFTEthics popped up after a long period of dormancy, claiming to reveal the identity of a current (in)famous NFT influencer.
Its Twitter description purports a mission of discovering and sharing the "inconvenient truths" about NFTs and their most influential participants. So naturally, being a purveyor of uncomfortable facts and unpopular opinions myself, I decided to check out the thread and assess the veracity of today's claim.
Decentralization and Anonymity - Strength or Weakness
Firstly, the thread is correct by stating that some of the methods used in doxxing the influencer, which is, to look for and publish private or identifying information about this person on the internet, can be compared to identifying people on the blockchain. Instead of using documents like tax IDs and bank accounts, combinations of publicly available data on the blockchain like wallet addresses can be used to trace historical actions.
It does then go on to say that because of the anonymous nature of blockchain transactions, there is no moral or ethical incentive to act ethically and to take accountable measures for their actions. I also believe this to be true. And according to NFTEthics, this is what sets the stage for NFT unethical practices.
The Reveal
It then wastes no time in naming the Twitter handle @beaniemaxi as the culprit being highlighted. It says:
"The person in question is Beanie (Twitter handle: beaniemaxi) and we have confirmed his identity via different independent sources. Any evidence provided is from publicly available data and can be verified, in the true spirit of Web3."
Source: https://twitter.com/NFTethics/status/1483051340309966854
An entire series of videos and screenshots then follow, providing damning evidence that the influencer has misled investors into buying hyped-up NFT projects, going to the extent of denying that he was affiliated with Royal Gaming Technology (RGT), a company behind the Monkey Bet DAO. It was then proven that Beanie actually owned RGT. Investors questioning this would then be banned from Discord (where most of the discussions took place).
Further blockchain evidence then showed a clear linkage between RGT employees to an Ethereum account that deployed a known scam token CBET, also associated with several scam projects like TokenPay. Beanie's previous Discord handle EC was then fingered to several known TokenPay handles. Existing casinos under that name were also found to have their licenses expired, meaning they were no longer operating legally.
Further down the rabbit hole, company registrations had clear links to individuals named in the Panama Papers, suggesting a pattern of proxy use by Beanie.
Credible or Not?
Since the reveal, Crypto Twitter has been discussing whether there is any truth to it. User @cadboros notes that "The statements in the Beanie doxx thread rarely provides verifiable facts... I am not suggesting that Beanie is innocent. But by no means has @NFTEthics proven guilt, beyond a reasonable doubt."
Beanie himself has posted: "I will respond to each of the allegations against me in detail very soon. I'm proud of my accomplishments in this space and appreciate all those that have stood up for me."
Beanie himself caused a storm last year when he admitted his account wasn't an individual but a team of professional marketers and that he and prominent NFT influencer @digitalartchick were actually the same people running both accounts for engagement. Digitalartchick herself was not amused and posted a middle-finger selfie in response.
Finally, to note, just like me, this Twitter handles is not against NFTs. It believes in the NFT space, just as I do, saying that it provides a pillar to the efforts against centralization and future efforts to build the metaverse. But like me, it believes that we must not be blind to shortcomings and pay heed to the need for ethics in this space.
In this way, those communities that are positive and that support the true development of the space in a legitimate and healthy way can continue to contribute to the sustainable and organic growth the industry needs for mainstream adoption.
Long live the people who want to build, and not take down, I say. We wait to see how Beanie responds.