Save the Kids token
Official logo of Save the Kids Token
Denominations
CodeKIDS
Development
Original author(s)Frazier Khattri (FaZe Kay) and Sam Pepper (both alleged)
Initial releaseJune 5, 2021 (2021-06-05)
Development statusDefunct
Developer(s)Anonymous (identified as "Lucas")
Website
Websitesavethekids.io (archived)

Save the Kids token was a cryptocurrency token and pump and dump scheme launched in 2021, which was marketed as a charity token meant to give a percentage of the transaction fee to a Binance-operated charity. The token was widely publicized by YouTube personalities, including RiceGum and members of the FaZe Clan who were later removed, in the time leading up to its launch.[1][2]

Background

Save the Kids token was developed by an individual named Lucas, who disclosed that the project was first formed by two individuals named "Manny" and "H.", who for legal reasons could not disclose the full name of the founders. Lucas claimed when he was originally recruited to develop, he initially believed the charitable intentions of the founders, though later learned that the founders were going around bringing on board several social media influencers to market the coin. Lucas additionally added that he was initially concerned Manny and H. were part of a larger group who were working to fund further pump and dump schemes.

The pump and dump aspect was caused from the token's anti-whaling mechanism, which is intended to prevent larger stakeholders from selling a large part of their funds. The site initially described that any single holder who owned over 0.5% of all tokens would be designated as a "whale", who could only sell 20% of your total supply every 24 hours in 0.1% transaction limits until they no longer held 0.5% of all supply. However, it was later discovered that the code had been tweaked at the last minute, enabling "whales" to sell all of their holdings with only a minute time limit.[3]

Promotion

Save the Kids was widely promoted by commentator RiceGum, Xcademy founder Joel Morris, and model Sommer Ray, as well as FaZe Clan members Kay (Frazier Khattri), Jarvis (Jarvis Khattri), Nikan (Nikan Nadim), and Teeqo. Many of the influencers appeared in videos promoting the token and made numerous tweets encouraging their fanbase, mostly consisting of teenagers, to purchase the token.[3]

Launch

Save the Kids Token was launched on June 5, 2021, and traded on the PancakeSwap exchange under the symbol $KIDS, starting around US$0.02. Immediately, though, the price of tokens collapsed to less than half a cent and further declined to price the token around $0.00138 at the start of July 2021. According to YouTuber Coffeezilla, the crash of Save the Kids was caused by Jarvis selling two-thirds of his coins, Nikan selling one-third of his holdings, and Kay selling nearly his entire collection of tokens, predicted to be valued around US$80,000 by Coffeezilla.[4]

Aftermath

After the scandal arose, Save the Kids Token's website was taken offline, and various influencers have removed their tweets on the incident.[3] Binance themselves addressed the controversy saying that they do not accept donations from altcoin campaigns, disproving Save the Kids Token's claim that they had donated over US$80,000 to the charity.[5] The project is believed to have been abandoned, and the website has since been taken offline.[4]

Coffeezilla investigation

YouTuber Coffeezilla is considered to be one of the primary investigators into Save the Kids token

YouTuber Stephen Findeisen, known online as Coffeezilla, conducted an investigation into the entirety of the Save the Kids token scandal. Ultimately, Findeisen found that Manny was only a middleman behind the scandal and that most influencers who promoted the currency were connected with it through their managers. The primary architects of the scheme were Frazier Kay, who had used several cryptocurrency wallets to potentially hide his tracks, Jordan Galen, a manager and promotion finder for Kay and various other members of the FaZe Clan, and YouTube personality Sam Pepper. Findeisen eventually uncovered that Lucas had changed the anti-whale mechanism on orders from Pepper, and that Kay was one of the main architects of the Save the Kids token. It was also suggested in Findeisen's videos that Kay and Pepper broke ties during the launch of Save the Kids, a possible motive for Pepper to order that Lucas change the anti-whale mechanism, a claim Kay continues to make. However, Kay additionally stated to Findeisen that he knew nothing about cryptocurrency, which Findeisen debunked by stating Frazier had multiple cryptocurrency wallets with one having hundreds of different cryptocurrencies.[6][7][8]

FaZe Clan

FaZe Clan management tweeted that they were completely unaware of the actions of its members and did not support them, posting that Kay had been expelled from the group entirely while Jarvis, Nikan, and Teeqo would be suspended until further notice; the latter of whom would later be reinstated after it was discovered that he had not sold any of his holdings. Kay responded by saying that though he had admitted he should have vetted his promotion through FaZe clan initially, he had absolutely no involvement in the scandal and promoted the coin with a belief that it would help the world for the better, though Findeisen, after conducting his investigation, discovered Kay had a history of promoting altcoins. After his expulsion from FaZe Clan, Kay claimed he had been scared himself and was planning to pursue legal action against Findeisen. Kay additionally promised that he would pay back as many people as possible who lost their money to the token, claiming that he had lost $37,000 himself (which was adjusted in March 2022 to total around US$500,000), and further vowing to embargo Pepper on a personal and professional level.[6][9][7]

Legacy

The scandal has been commonly cited as a textbook example of the cryptocurrency influencer scam and serves as a warning for other influencers to refrain from participating in or endorsing digital assets. Frazier Khattri has encouraged influencers after Save the Kids to refrain from endorsing cryptocurrency, saying that the crypto market has "not fully developed". Save The Kids was additionally credited as one of the focus examples for the growing trend of cryptocurrency scams, to which more than $80 million has been lost so far mostly from younger audiences buying into the currencies simply from the hype.[5][10]

References

  1. ↑ "Faze Clan Members Skewered By Fans Following Huge Crypto Losses". Kotaku. June 28, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  2. ↑ Binder, Matt (July 1, 2021). "A look into a failed influencer deal to promote a cryptocurrency". Mashable. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Sacco, Dom (July 2, 2021). "Scam the Kids: The 'Save the Kids' crypto scandal involving several UK YouTubers is a painful reminder of the volatility of cryptocurrency and the dangers of trusting influencers – opinion". esports-news.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  4. 1 2 Lowe, Jamie (2021-07-05). "Esports influencer fired for pumping and dumping 'Save The Kids' crypto". Protos. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  5. 1 2 "Influencers Are Scamming Their Fans Through Crypto. Here's How Their Tactics Have Evolved". Time. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  6. 1 2 "Coffeezilla, the YouTuber Exposing Crypto Scams". The New Yorker. 2022-05-14. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  7. 1 2 Sacco, Dom (August 14, 2021). "Frazier Kay finally breaks silence over Save the Kids scandal, says he will pay as many people back as possible and that Sam Pepper screwed him over". esports-news.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  8. ↑ Findeisen, Stephen "Coffezilla", Save The Kids - The Final Chapter, retrieved 2022-09-28
  9. ↑ Sacco, Dom (July 14, 2021). "Frazier Kay to sue Coffeezilla over Save the Kids crypto investigation". Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Inside the 'Wild West' of cryptocurrencies and social media influencers". NBC News. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
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