Anyone who trades cryptocurrencies can make or lose money. But there are also just winners: crypto influencers. These are people who have a large number of fans on social networks such as Youtube, Tiktok or Instagram.
One of them is Christopher Jaszczynski – aka MMCrypto. The German was a taxi driver before turning to the cryptocurrency Bitcoin in late 2017 and shared his advice with news outlets, from Forbes to CNBC. More than half a million people now follow him on his YouTube channel. Jaszczynski posts videos that are viewed between 50,000 and 100,000 almost every day.
The procedure is always the same: a clear headline in capital letters and an emotional picture of yourself. “Absolute Bitcoin emergency”, “Biggest Bitcoin signal in history” or “Opportunity to become a millionaire!” are titles. In the videos, Jaszczynski yells at the selfie camera and outdoes himself with wild guesses every day.
At the end of August, he called out to his smartphone, “Emergency, emergency.” Jaszczynski was in Dubai and told his fans that Bitcoin should not fall below $19,200 otherwise things could get “hairy”. Three days later he is waiting again with “Good News”. These apparently weren’t good enough as Bitcoin dropped a total of five percent in September.
Business model of crypto influencers
But Jaszczynski has little to worry about as much as his prediction last year, when the Germans said that Bitcoin would soon break $300,000. Instead, the digital currency fell from $69,000 to $19,000 today. Despite this, Jaszczynski has been diligently collecting money all this time.
The crypto influencer makes its money with referral links for cryptocurrency exchanges. In his videos, he draws attention to the links he adds in the video description. Among other things, these lead to Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. But smaller trading platforms such as Phemex and Bitget can also be found among Jaszczynski’s videos.
If a user – inspired by the videos – follows one of these links, saves and trades cryptocurrencies, Jaszczynski earns money. It doesn’t matter if the Bitcoin price goes up or down. “There are many bad examples of wanting to make quick money at the expense of their followers with shameless predictions and advice,” says crypto expert Julian Liniger (29). Jaszczynski is well known on stage – “and above all, notorious,” Liniger says.
“Panic mongering and completely exaggerated predictions”
“People who have some experience and deal with him and the subject in a different way quickly realize that he is using the trust and emotional instability of his inexperienced followers with panic-mongering, utterly exaggerated guesswork, and questionable advice on a fast and large scale. enrichment,” warns Liniger. Not only is Jaszczynski, such charlatans abound. “The hallmark of this genre is the shocked face on the covers of the videos they use to get their followers’ attention. These tactics are also known from their pyramid schemes.”
Trading with Bybit is particularly dangerous. Jaszczynski is heavily promoting the Singapore crypto exchange. This allows users to trade borrowed assets. In other words, money they don’t have. An above-average return awaits you. But if the Bitcoin price goes in the wrong direction, all wealth threatens to be wasted. “This type of trading is strongly discouraged for inexperienced retail investors,” Liniger says. “In the worst case, there is a risk of over-indebtedness.”
Crypto phenomenon Jaszczynski does not want to comment on the allegations. He ignored all glance requests.
Swiss influencer attacked Patrizia Laeri
There is also a crypto phenomenon with a lot of followers in Switzerland. Its nickname is SunnyDecree. Real name: unknown. About 35,000 people follow the German channel on YouTube. He shut down his English channel with more than 150,000 fans after a series of escapes last year.
SunnyDecree made national headlines after insulting 45-year-old business journalist Patrizia Laeri in a live broadcast. He rudely suggested that Laeri had earned her success through sexual favors. The reason for his anger at the time: Laeri shared an article discussing the high energy consumption of cryptocurrencies.
Since then, Switzerland has been quiet. Like Christopher Jaszczynski, he makes his money through referral links. But SunnyDecree currently doesn’t make as steep predictions as its German influencer counterpart. “It’s a good example of an influencer who primarily focuses on education, not fearmongering,” says crypto expert Liniger.
“Your life will change forever”
If you want to trade cryptocurrencies, you shouldn’t just shy away from big crypto influencers like Christopher Jaszczynski. Equally active and misleading can be people with a few hundred followers on platforms like Instagram. They write in a targeted way to encourage people to trade cryptocurrencies.
One of them is Laura K. * In the summer of 2021 she will post a picture of herself in Dubai on Instagram: “Work whenever and wherever you want? And make a lot of money doing it? You can too! Get in touch and make your dreams come true.” Laura K. sees who is looking at the picture. A few moments later, the private message read: “I see you are interested in a free life? Give me 15 minutes of your time and your life will be changed forever.”
After a short chat, Laura K. invites you to a video call. She opens a Powerpoint presentation there. One of the first slides is for banks. ‘Your money is not safe. In a crisis, banks have the option to hold your money,” she says. A statement that has been proven wrong.
Then it’s work. He wants to sell a program – online videos of “crypto experts”. “After this school, you’ll learn everything you need to get started,” he promises.
“It looks like a pyramid scheme”
The name of the product is MarketPeak. A Dubai-based education and sales platform. «The purpose of MarketPeak is to educate and educate the community in the fields of finance and blockchain. Also, MarketPak offers the community a very thoughtful and fair rewards plan.”
To purchase the training program, you purchase MarketPeak’s custom-created cryptocurrency for CHF 750. “You shouldn’t sell them right away. But don’t worry, it will definitely increase », Laura K. is convinced. “So you don’t spend any money, but in the end you are easily left in the dark.”
Crypto expert Julian Liniger warns: “MarketPeak’s statement certainly looks like a Ponzi scheme.” Thousands of such coins were minted with fraudulent intentions and sold with the promise of huge price increases. “But they can never be realized because they do not create added value, they just advertise empty promises of profit.”
Laura K. won the commission
That’s what happened with MarketPeak – Laura K’s advertised product. A year later, the cryptocurrency isn’t worth a single penny. Minus 7100 percent. «Scam Some great leaders were having fun in Dubai, while thousands of retail investors lost their money! The summit is not worth anything! But there are still some crazy people promoting this bullshit!”, reads one online comment.
Whether MarketPeak is an illegal Ponzi scheme disguised as a legal, multi-level marketing structure is a matter of debate for legal professionals. One thing is for sure: Laura K. earned a commission if she sold her training program. And the person who hired Laura K. made money from it.
Blick’s research on MarketPeak was fruitless in Dubai. As well as the complaints of numerous users. A year later, Laura K. also doesn’t want to talk anymore. She was probably as much a victim as the people she recruited.
*Name known to editors