Did you think that NFTs had remained in 2022, even harder hit than cryptocurrencies?
This is surely what many influencers, especially known by reality TV, were also hoping for, who had promoted Animoon, an NFT company that has raised more than 6 million euros thanks to fabulous promises. But justice, known for taking its time, seems to have caught on and, if the creators of Animoon remain unreachable, those who promoted it are risking a lot today.
What is Animoon?
From the start, there were very few elements to suggest that Animoon was an honest and responsible company: its fundraising was done when the company did not have a website, and then promised returns on investment by 150%. But above all, the site promised its first investors benefits that were hard to believe: $2,500 per month for life, lots of luxury clothes, and superb trips around the world. As for the NFTs that could supposedly be won there, they were barely retouched images of known Pokemons. Not sure, however, that the rights holders have given their consent, but this is clearly not the biggest problem here.
Despite these unrealistic and outlandish promises, the fundraiser had managed to convince more than 5,000 people, and to raise more than 6 million dollars, before all that evaporated in nature. All this thanks to an intense communication campaign, in particular making extensive use of influencers on social networks.
What do we blame influencers for?
The hundred plaintiffs who met in this case bring two complaints. One against the company directly, but also another against the influencers who have promoted it and who are, for their part, clearly identified. Marc Blata, who has several million subscribers on Instagram, is one of them. In his posts promoting Animoon, he guarantees that he invests too, and earns a lot of money from it. Victims explain that it is in particular because of the confidence they had in such very popular profiles, that they also had confidence in this scam.
Now, the tide finally seems to be turning on the ethics of influencer partnerships and disguised advertising, and the government has launched a consultation on the subject. If it is unfortunate that it took a gigantic campaign of harassment to go through this, the personal investment of rapper Booba against the “influencers” has undoubtedly put the subject on the front of the stage.
Source : France Info, Cryptoms
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