Logan Paul Finally Responds To Serious CyptoZoo Scam Claims
Update 1/9/23: Logan Paul has since removed his YouTube video accusing Coffeezilla of defamation. The original article follows below.
Last month, YouTuber Coffeezilla took it upon himself to dig into the controversies surrounding Logan Paul's NFT-based game, "CryptoZoo." Since the blockchain game's soft launch in 2021, players have reportedly been frustrated by its limited functionality. According to Coffeezilla's research, only a small number of players claim to be able to use the game as intended, while others are dismayed by the constant promises that "CryptoZoo" is still in the process of being updated after all this time. Among other scandals, he also discussed the fact that one of the game's developers held the game's code for ransom after fleeing the country. Not only that, but a number of investors spoke with Coffeezilla about their involvement in "CryptoZoo," lamenting the fact that they have sunk a great deal of money into the venture. In other words, people argued that they'd been swindled by "CryptoZoo."
For his own part, Logan Paul has maintained that many of Coffeezilla's findings are incorrect. In a tweet posted late in December, Paul deemed Coffeezilla's three-part video series "simply not true" and promised to clear up misconceptions about the game and his involvement in an episode of his podcast "IMPAULSIVE." Coffeezilla responded in turn, tweeting, "it's pretty wild to refuse to talk to me for months, refuse to address investors for a year and a half and then when caught Logan says he's going to 'expose bad actors.'"
In the evening of January 3, Logan Paul posted a video to his personal YouTube channel digging into the allegations against him and "CryptoZoo." And if this clip is anything to go by, then the feud between Logan Paul and Coffeezilla is far from over.
Logan Paul blasts Coffeezilla's videos
Right off the bat, Logan Paul's video accuses Coffeezilla of ignoring facts in favor of clout, with Paul remarking, "[Coffeezilla has] made very real errors with very real repercussions," and that Coffeezilla is "a lopsided journalist with an agenda."
In an apparent effort to discredit any information Coffeezilla gleaned from "CryptoZoo" developer Zack Kelling, Logan Paul revealed that Kelling has been in and out of prison over the years. Paul insinuated that this means it's hard to trust anything Kelling told Coffeezilla during their interview, quipping, "Wouldn't someone with journalistic integrity know their 'credible source' had not only an agenda, but a fondness for orange jumpsuits? Or did you just hear what you wanted to hear and moved on?" The YouTuber then brushed off the fact that he worked with Kelling by saying that his hiring team dropped the ball in that regard — then claimed that another former "CryptoZoo" developer, Eddie Ibanez, has "fooled billionaires, the Mormon Church, the owner of the New York Yankees, and now, me."
Paul would go on to discredit another one of his investors before disputing claims that the game doesn't work as intended, showing footage of streamers hatching eggs within "CryptoZoo." But the biggest gripe Logan Paul had with Coffeezilla's video had to do with the section in which he recorded and played back a phone call with Paul's manager, Jeff Levin, which Paul argues is grounds for a fine or jail time. Paul said, "Now, although you didn't verify any background, substantiate any evidence, took multiple criminals' words and truth, and broke laws, you still published the defamation."
According to Logan Paul, he has not made any money off of "CryptoZoo" and he fired all of the problematic people from his team well before Coffeezilla's investigation began.
Logan Paul threatens legal action against Coffeezilla
Paul revealed near the end of his video that his legal team has not cleared him to discuss many of the details surrounding the issues with "CryptoZoo," he did say that the development of the game is indeed continuing. He claims that Coffeezilla proceeded with his video series in order to defame him and raise his own personal cache online. Paul concluded by disputing Coffeezilla's claims that he'd tried to get in touch with Paul before the video series came out, then telling Coffeezilla point blank, "I suggest you use the money you got from pumping your Patreon to hire a good lawyer."
For his own part, Coffeezilla has lambasted Logan Paul's latest video, tweeting that the video contained "0 apologies, 0 addressing victims, 0 accountability." He also included screenshots of a previous attempt to contact Logan Paul through social media and promised to issue a more thoughtful response in the future.
Meanwhile, the work on "CryptoZoo" apparently continues behind the scenes. In another screenshot shared by Coffeezilla on Twitter, Paul recently logged into the "CryptoZoo" Discord server to promise users some big updates and fixes to the game in 2023.
🚨Logan Paul just posted in the CryptoZoo discord for the first time in over a year.
"Long time no see" pic.twitter.com/L22NF2LFdf— Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) December 31, 2022
Unfortunately for Paul, it seems his latest promises have been met with skepticism and even outright hostility from the members of the "CryptoZoo" Discord. One member asked, "Why did it take Coffee to expose everything for you to message? We have lost millions. Peoples lives have been destroyed." It remains to be seen if Paul's explanation will do anything to quell the unrest among "CryptoZoo" users and investors at this point, but commenters on YouTube and Discord seem to be less than impressed.