Happy Valentine’s Day, degens.
Hope you have a date. If not, spin up an AI agent to chat with.
Let’s talk about BitBoy.
Yes, that BitBoy.
The rise.
The money.
The chaos.
And now… the $2.8 million courtroom reality check.
Meeting BitBoy at the WSOP
A few years back, I met him.
It was at the World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas. We were both playing. Just two crypto guys trying to fade variance in a room full of sharks.
During a break, we walked toward the food area. I shook his hand and wished him good luck.
I was wearing a hoodie from Mutant Ape Yacht Club.
He looked at it and asked, “Are those on Solana?”
I laughed.
Peak 2021 energy.
He was such a SOL fanboy back then. Loud, confident, bullish on everything.
Back then, BitBoy was everywhere. On YouTube. On Twitter. On conference stages. He wasn’t just a content creator. He was the retail crypto face.
And now?
Yesterday, Kevin O’Leary won a lawsuit against him for roughly $2.8 million.
That’s not a typo.
But to understand how we got here, we need to rewind.
Who Is BitBoy?
His real name is Ben Armstrong.
Better known as BitBoy Crypto.
One of the biggest crypto YouTubers during the last bull cycle.
He claims he bought his first Bitcoin in 2012.
He has said God spoke to him in a dream.
He believed he would be a millionaire by the end of that year.
Visionary?
Delusional?
Or just early?
In 2018, he launched the BitBoy Crypto YouTube channel.
He started with crypto news.
Then altcoin picks.
Then “100x gems.”
The formula worked.
The Peak: 2021–2022
This was the golden era.
Thousands of new subscribers every month.
Millions of views.
Retail traders hanging on every word.
BitBoy became the loudest megaphone in crypto retail.
He made serious money.
Reports later showed:
- Around $40,000 per month from YouTube ads alone
- $40,000 per YouTube review
- $20,000 per tweet
- $10,000 per Telegram shill
That’s when the business model became clear.
The real money wasn’t ads.
It was promotions.
The Shills That Aged Like Milk
During the peak mania, BitBoy promoted endless tokens.
Many of these later collapsed. Some were labeled scams. Others simply died when liquidity dried up.
Retail got wrecked.
Now look, let’s be honest.
2021 was wild.
Everyone was shilling something.
Crypto Twitter was a circus.
But BitBoy wasn’t just another account.
He was one of the biggest platforms in the space.
When you have that kind of reach, the responsibility is bigger.
That’s where many of us started having issues.
The Atozy Lawsuit (First Public Humiliation)
In 2022, YouTuber Atozy exposed paid promotions on his channel.
BitBoy responded by suing him.
Crypto Twitter exploded.
Over $200,000 was raised for Atozy’s defense.
Cobie alone donated $100,000.
That was a moment.
It wasn’t just about one lawsuit.
It was about the culture of paid shills.
Under pressure, BitBoy backed down and dropped the case.
First major crack in the armor.
Fired From His Own Brand
August 2023.
Hit Network — the company behind BitBoy Crypto — fired him.
Imagine building a brand around your personality…
And then getting removed from it.
The official reasons?
Substance abuse.
Erratic behavior.
Financial issues.
Days later came the Lamborghini meltdown.
He livestreamed himself trying to reclaim a disputed Lambo.
It escalated.
He was arrested on camera.
It felt unreal.
Crypto’s former golden boy arguing over a supercar on livestream.
That’s when the narrative fully shifted.
Guide: Earn Gold Airdrops and Farm Yield with tokenized Gold
Regulators Step In
In 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission reportedly began investigating over 15 promoted tokens.
When regulators start digging, it’s never a small thing.
The influencer era had entered its accountability phase.
2025: The Legal Spiral
Things didn’t stabilize.
They escalated.
Reports surfaced of him emailing and harassing a judge.
He was arrested in Florida.
Spent 106 days in jail.
Then arrested again in Georgia.
Charged with harassing phone calls.
It was no longer just crypto drama.
It became a legal collapse.
February 2026: The Kevin O’Leary Judgment
This is the latest chapter.
BitBoy accused Kevin O’Leary of being a “real-life killer.”
He allegedly posted O’Leary’s private phone number.
Encouraged followers to call him.
The court ruled against Armstrong.
Rough breakdown:
- $750,000 for emotional distress
- $2,000,000 in punitive damages
- Reputational damage
- Armstrong did not even show up in court
Total: roughly $2.8 million.
That’s not YouTube drama money.
That’s life-altering money.
Support Our Work
If you found this helpful, consider signing up on BloFin (Non-KYC) or Bybit using our referral links. Your support keeps this content free and flowing.
The Rise and the Trainwreck
Here’s the uncomfortable part.
We didn’t like the business model.
We didn’t like the paid shills.
We didn’t like the ponzi-style promotions.
We didn’t like the culture it encouraged.
But we also don’t enjoy watching someone implode.
BitBoy was a symbol of the 2021 retail mania.
Loud.
Confident.
Unfiltered.
Overleveraged — not just in trades, but in ego.
He represented that cycle perfectly.
When crypto was flying, he was flying.
When the cycle turned, everything unraveled.
What This Means for Crypto
The BitBoy saga is bigger than one influencer.
It marks the end of an era.
The era where:
- Influencers could pump tokens without disclosure
- Retail would ape blindly
- Laws felt optional
Those days are fading.
Regulators are watching.
Retail is more skeptical.
And reputations matter more than ever.
Final Words
We don’t agree with what he promoted.
We think retail got hurt.
But I don’t like seeing someone fall this hard.
From WSOP breaks and Solana jokes…
To courtrooms and jail time.
It’s a brutal arc.
I genuinely hope Ben Armstrong finds peace.
Crypto is ruthless.
Fame is ruthless.
And when you mix both, the crash can be violent.
If anything, let this be a lesson.
In crypto — like poker — variance is brutal.
But character is what survives the downswings.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Protect your heart.
And maybe… don’t take financial advice from YouTubers promising 100x gems.
If you enjoyed this blog, check out our blog on the most common airdrop farming mistakes.
As always, don’t forget to claim your bonus below on Bybit. See you next time!
Credit: Source link
