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| years_active = 2018–present
| years_active = 2018–present
| genre = Commentary, finance
| genre = Commentary, finance
| subscribers = 2.56 million
| subscribers = 2.58 million
| views = 282 million
| views = 284 million
| silver_button = y
| silver_button = y
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Revision as of 09:19, 7 February 2023

Coffeezilla
Findeisen in April 2021
Personal information
Born
Stephen Findeisen
Websitecoffeezilla.com
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2018–present
Genre(s)Commentary, finance
Subscribers2.58 million[1]
Total views284 million[1]
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers

Last updated: January 31, 2023

Stephen Findeisen, better known by his online alias Coffeezilla, is an American YouTuber and crypto journalist who is known primarily for his channel in which he investigates and discusses alleged online scams, usually surrounding cryptocurrency, Web3, and decentralized finance.[2] Before Coffeezilla, Findeisen was active on YouTube with the channel Coffee Break between 2017 and 2020.

Early life

Findeisen holds a degree in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University.[3] Before his YouTube career, he sold houses for a local builder.[4]

Career

Career Beginnings

Findeisen was motivated to hunt down scams after his mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer, was persuaded to buy questionable products with the belief that they would help cure her.[3] His mother would later end up recovering.[5] He began his career as a YouTuber by uploading videos in which he makes allegations about influencers and financial commentators.[3][6]

Save the Kids token

He gained international recognition after making a series of videos that investigated Save the Kids token, a cryptocurrency widely seen as a pump and dump scheme. He claimed that former FaZe Clan member Frazier Khattri (FaZe Kay) collaborated with YouTube prankster Sam Pepper. In response, Khattri's lawyers threatened to sue Findeisen in a cease and desist letter unless he retracted his statements, but Findeisen called the cease and desist letter "absolute toilet paper".[7][8]

Safemoon

In April 2022, Findeisen accused the SafeMoon team for misappropriating millions of dollars.[9] According to Findeisen, Safemoon CEO John Karony, has been removing funds from the liquidity pool which is the primary explanation for the crypto's price pattern. Findeisen found evidence of transactions that showed Safemoon's liquidity wallet moving funds to a wallet dubbed the "Gabe (6abe) wallet" which withdrew funds to a separate company run by Karony. Former SafeMoon CTO Thomas "Papa" Smith was the only person who responded to Findeisen's claims stating that funds were taken from the “locked liquidity pool” before Karony’s appointment. He sent Smith evidence of this in the form of a blockchain transaction showing an outflow of 36.7 trillion tokens from the liquidity pool, dated March 5, 2021.[10] Former SafeMoon CTO, Thomas Smith who had a role as a blockchain advisor for StrikeX, was dismissed by the company after the fraud allegations uncovered by Findeisen.[11] Coffeezilla has made multiple other reports on Safemoon, including the pump and dump scheme against many influencers including Soulja Boy, Logan Paul, Lil Yachty, Ben Phillips amongst others as well as highlighting the controversy surrounding the Safemoon CEO suing his own mother.[12]

FTX

Findeisen additionally was active during the bankruptcy of FTX, interviewing FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried on three occasions and describing Bankman-Fried's responses during the last interview as an admission of fraud. In light of his involvement with investigating FTX in particular, The Washington Post credited Findeisen as one of the most powerful independent news sources when it comes to the cryptocurrency industry.[13][14][15]

CryptoZoo

In December 2022, Findeisen published a three-part series on NFT-based game CryptoZoo, a project Logan Paul developed and founded.[16] He criticized the project for not delivering on its promises and alleged that the team engaged in market manipulation.[17] In a now-deleted video, Paul responded to the allegations, while also threatening legal action against Findeisen for defamation and claiming that Findeisen broke "criminal and civil laws" by uploading a recording of a phone call with his manager, Jeff Levinan.[17] He has since withdrawn the threat.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b "About Coffeezilla". YouTube.
  2. ^ "Influencers outshine traditional media on coverage of FTX implosion". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Monroe, Rachel (May 14, 2022). "Coffeezilla, the YouTuber Exposing Crypto Scams". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  4. ^ Franceschi-Bicchierai, Lorenzo (April 14, 2022). "Meet the Blockchain Detectives Who Track Crypto's Hackers and Scammers". Vice. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  5. ^ "This YouTuber has built his career calling out crypto scams". CNN. June 23, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  6. ^ Alford, Aaron (March 7, 2022). "CoffeeZilla reveals Jake Paul's alleged crypto scams amid Safemoon lawsuit". Inven Global. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  7. ^ Gach, Ethan (July 14, 2022). "Former Faze Clan Guy Pressures YouTubers To Pull Scam Vids With Millions of Views". Kotaku. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  8. ^ "StackPath". esports-news.co.uk. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  9. ^ "What Happened to SafeMoon, the Hyped-Up Crypto That Promised Riches?".
  10. ^ "Coffeezilla, the YouTuber Exposing Crypto Scams". The New Yorker. May 14, 2022.
  11. ^ "Cooli Carlito x HALO - StrikeX". Genius.
  12. ^ https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/45452726/LEX_VEST_LTD_v_Emanations_Communications_Group_LC
  13. ^ "Coffeezilla claims FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried admitted "fraud" in interview". Dexerto. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  14. ^ "Influencers outshine traditional media on coverage of FTX implosion". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  15. ^ Munene, Vincent (December 8, 2022). "CoffeeZilla Ruthlessly Grills SBF into Fraud Confession". Blockzeit. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Brandt, Oliver (January 8, 2023). "Logan Paul's massive backflip after Coffeezilla 'scam' report". news.com.au. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  17. ^ a b Haylock, Zoë (January 6, 2023). "Logan Paul SBF'd Up". Vulture. Retrieved January 7, 2023.

External links