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Popular YouTuber and streamer Darren "IShowSpeed" has deleted the VOD of a recent controversial stream where he promoted Paradox Metaverse, a new cryptocurrency project that has been widely criticized as a scam.
The divisive streamer was in England to attend a Manchester United game, hoping to see his favorite player, Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. While he was in the United Kingdom, he made a livestream sponsored by the English crypto project, which featured PlayStation 5 giveaways and a Ronaldo impersonator.
Live reactions to the stream were overwhelmingly negative, with viewers repeatedly spamming "L Scam" in his YouTube chat as project founder Amio Talio called on viewers to follow Paradox Metaverse on Twitter. IShowSpeed has since deleted the VOD and apologized for being involved with the sponsored stream, saying:
"I made a little mistake, you know, that I wish I never did, but I'm not a scammer."
IShowSpeed apologizes for promoting Paradox Metaverse
Paradox Metaverse is a pay-to-earn NFT game that touts itself as an "AAA-quality, open-world battle royale" title`. The main of the developers is to sell NFTs and cryptocurrency.
The title appears to be largely based on the Lyra Sample Game, a learning resource for game developers using Unreal Engine 5. The offering reuses a lot of the sample title's assets, with the main noticeable difference being the presence of NFTs sold by Paradox.
Dubious game quality aside, there were some major concerns regarding the project. YouTuber Coffeezilla, whose channel covers a multitude of cryptocurrency scams, took an interest in Paradox Metaverse following IShowSpeed's stream.
He interviewed Paradox co-founders Amio Talio and Fasial Tariq on a two-hour stream, coming to the conclusion that they were running a Ponzi scheme, citing an intentionally complex flow chart on the project's website. Here's what Coffeezilla said:
"They're trying to confuse you because if you actually understood how a Ponzi scheme worked, you'd never truly invest."
Coffeezilla later posted a comprehensive video explaining the controversy surrounding IShowSpeed's stream, as well as his own interview with the Paradox co-founders.
As for Speed, he has since apologized for his involvement in promoting Paradox Metaverse and has deleted the VOD of the sponsored stream after asking viewers how to handle the situation. He put out an apology video on Twitter as well, where he claimed that he would never scam his audience, saying:
"A day in my life, I will never scam you guys, just remember that. A day in my life, I care about you guys so freaking much."
As of November 23, Paradox Metaverse has seen its market cap drop by $30 million and has denied any and all wrongdoing.
