Blockchain detective ZachXBT has revealed that more than 200 influencers have been charging thousands of dollars, sometimes as much as $60,000 for a single post, to promote token projects.<\/p>\n
However, what is more worrying is that fewer than five out of over 160 accepted deals bothered to disclose their promotions as ads, raising serious questions about transparency and potential market manipulation.<\/p>\n
A spreadsheet shared<\/a> by the investigator on X showed a tiered pricing system resembling a media-buying schedule. High-profile accounts charged between $5,000 and $10,000 per post, while micro-influencers in lower tiers accepted just a few hundred dollars.<\/p>\n At the top, one figure going by the X handle @atitty_ reportedly pocketed $60,000 for giveaway-style posts designed to farm engagement.<\/p>\n According to ZachXBT\u2019s analysis of the data, which included reviewing blockchain transactions to confirm payments, more than 160 accounts accepted a deal from a single project. Of those, he stated, \u201cI only saw <5 accounts actually disclose the promotional posts as an advertisement.\u201d<\/p>\n This practice, as he noted, is \u201cillegal in most jurisdictions but just is rarely enforced.\u201d<\/p>\n Community reaction was swift, with The OTC Network cofounder Erick arguing<\/a> that failing to tag posts as ads amounts to deception: \u201cIt\u2019s wild people in crypto don\u2019t see the need to alert their following with a #ad at the end of the post.\u201d<\/p>\n Critics also highlighted repeat offenders. For instance, pseudonymous researcher \u201cdethective\u201d pointed out<\/a> that two accounts, @Regrets10x and @lynk0x, appeared to be run by the same person and even got paid twice by a single project. Their analysis further revealed that many influencers earned more through promotions and insider deals than from actual trading.<\/p>\n While many acknowledge that paid promotions are a legitimate part of the industry, the near-total absence of disclosure is seen as a fundamental breach of trust.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t mind promoting posts, but if you get straight payment for that, it could be nice if you\u2019d disclose it,\u201d remarked one user. Previously, an award-winning crypto influencer was forced to temporarily deactivate<\/a> his X account after being outed for using bots to manipulate his social media metrics.<\/p>\n The discussion has expanded beyond simple shilling to question the very nature of \u201corganic\u201d hype. One observer said<\/a> the leak shows \u201chow modern crypto narratives are manufactured,\u201d suggesting that what appears as genuine community excitement is often a \u201cpre-priced, pay-for-play distribution\u201d designed to manufacture belief and create exit liquidity for insiders.<\/p>\n While some players in the space have defended themselves by claiming they only promote tokens they \u201cbelieve in,\u201d critics remain skeptical. According to analysts, the takeaway is clear: paid promotion without disclosure is not just an ethical lapse but a systemic problem that distorts markets.<\/p>\n With regulators already under pressure to tighten oversight of crypto advertising, this leak could draw unwanted attention to both influencers and the projects funding them. Last year, the UK\u2019s Financial Conduct Authority released<\/a> guidelines for meme coin influencers, warning that promoting such products without its approval could constitute a criminal offence.<\/p>\n The post Crypto Influencers Raking in $60K Per Post, With Almost No Disclosure<\/a> appeared first on CryptoPotato<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Blockchain detective ZachXBT has revealed that more than 200 influencers have been charging thousands of dollars, sometimes as much as $60,000 for a single post, to promote token projects. However, what is more worrying is that fewer than five out of over 160 accepted deals bothered to disclose their promotions as ads, raising serious questions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":93016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93015"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/93016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Market Narratives for Sale<\/h2>\n