Influencers and the Dark Side of Memecoin Business: How Celebrities Like Mr.Thank.You Deceive Their Followers

The New Wave of Celebrity-Backed Cryptocurrency Scams

The cryptocurrency universe has experienced a concerning phenomenon in recent years: celebrities with no experience in decentralized finance promoting dubious assets among millions of followers. The latest case involves influencer Sergei Kosenko, known as Mr.Thank.You, who has a massive audience of 39.3 million people on Instagram. This character, famous for his videos of supposed philanthropy where he pretends to give away money, has recently ventured into the crypto world with a subtly dangerous promotion.

Mr.Thank.You’s Campaign Around Beercoin: A Known Pattern

Through his Instagram stories, Mr.Thank.You has been promoting a cryptocurrency called Beercoin (BEER), operated on the Solana blockchain. Although the influencer claimed not to be an expert in the field and clarified that he does not offer financial advice, his implicit message was clear: he encouraged mass buying of the token, arguing that he would hold his position until seeing a tenfold increase.

Current data for Beercoin (BEER):

• Current price: $0.00
• 24h change: -1.81%
• 7-day change: -6.30%
• Market capitalization: $1.49M
• 24h trading volume: $13.71K

At its peak promotion, Beercoin had reached a market cap of over 250 million dollars with a daily volume close to 103 million. However, the most recent data shows a devastating collapse in the asset’s valuation, revealing the extreme speculative nature of these projects.

The Mechanism Behind Celebrity Scams

The strategy behind these promotions is lethal and systematic. When an influencer with millions of followers promotes a recent memecoin, the real goal is not to provide value to investors but to create a wave of novice buying that serves as exit liquidity for founders and their collaborators.

The typical process works like this: token creators launch the coin, accumulate large amounts at a minimum price, then contact a celebrity to promote it. Once retail capital injection generates enough volume and market cap, insiders dump their positions en masse, causing the collapse of the price. Followers who bought based on the recommendation bear the full losses.

Historical Precedents: From Fraudulent ICOs to Present

This is not a new phenomenon. The history of celebrity-backed scams in cryptocurrencies is long and painful:

Centra Tech (2017): Promoted aggressively by DJ Khaled and Floyd Mayweather as a “revolutionary payment solution,” the project collapsed leaving investors ruined. Mayweather later tried to repeat the pattern with a token called FLOYD, posting it on X (formerly Twitter), then deleting all tweets after executing the rugpull.

Other Notable Cases: Paris Hilton backed a fraudulent ICO that collapsed. Paul Pierce promoted Safemoon, which now has losses of -99% from its all-time highs. Kim Kardashian was fined $250,000 by the SEC for undisclosed promotion of EMAX. Actress Lana Rhoades was involved in controversy over the NFT scam project “Cryptosis.”

The Evolution: From ICOs to Pump.Fun

The infrastructure for these scams has become more sophisticated. Platforms like “Pump.Fun” allow anyone, including celebrities, to launch memecoins in minutes. The typical flow is:

1. A celebrity creates a token referencing their name or character
2. Buys large volumes at an initial price (when liquidity is minimal)
3. Shares the contract on their social media encouraging investment
4. Once the coin reaches millions in market cap, deletes the posts
5. The price collapses while small investors are trapped

Integration with Telegram bots automates this process further, allowing only a few designated participants to accumulate cryptocurrencies in large amounts during initial listings, which are then dumped on the latest retail buyers arriving at the “party.”

Mr.Thank.You: A Pattern of Behavior?

The worrying part is that Mr.Thank.You has proclaimed himself as the “next Elon Musk” in crypto investments, showing a similar propensity to other influencers who have fallen into this pattern of behavior. His lack of transparency in not marking his posts as sponsored content (ADV) worsens the situation from an ethical and potentially legal perspective.

Final Reflections: How to Protect Yourself

In conclusion, these unscrupulous individuals are willing to betray the trust of their most loyal followers in exchange for quick gains. Regulatory responsibility also lies with authorities like the SEC, which should focus on pursuing these fraudulent practices rather than just targeting larger exchange platforms.

Some practical tips to avoid falling into these traps:

• Be suspicious of any crypto recommendation from celebrities without proven experience
• Check if the content is marked as sponsored
• Independently research the project: team, whitepaper, security audits
• Remember that if “it doesn’t sound real,” it probably isn’t
• Stay away from Beercoin, Mr.Thank.You, and similar projects without fundamentals

The cryptocurrency market already has enough inherent challenges; scams orchestrated by celebrities only make it more dangerous for newcomers. Vigilance and education are your best defense tools.