Once again, 2D crypto investigator ZachXBT shook the crypto Twitter space by revealing that more than 200 influencers had not disclosed their paid promotions.
A spreadsheet with how much they charge and links to wallets where they have received the funds makes it even spicier.
ZachXBT claims that at max, only five out of those 200 paid promoters disclosed their posts as ads.
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Who is ZachXBT? Why is Crypto Twitter in Turmoil?
ZachXBT started his journey in 2017. He started as a regular crypto trader, and not long into his journey, in 2018, he got hacked for $15K in ETH.
That initially pushed him to start searching and digging through Etherscan to find out what had happened. Without any finance background or working in tech, he used whatever public tools he had at hand to find relevant information about crypto hacks and scammers.
Later, his first big breakthrough was when he discovered the Rogue society, which minted over 15,777 NFTs.
1/ It’s time we talk about the $5.5m @roguesocietynft slow rug that has been happening for 7 months thanks to the anon founder @LecheTheMilky disappearing. pic.twitter.com/xwiekfrlO5
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 21, 2022
Not long after, he exposed more bad actors from $70M Pixelmon disaster, who minted more funds to buy Bored Apes, to a phishing ring that stole $2.5M in BAYC NFTs.
But the big breakthrough happened when, in 2022, he made a series of reports about Machi Big Brother, who stole more than $37M in between 20+ wallets.
Then, Machi sued him for defamation, but that didn’t scare Zach off; instead, it pushed him to dig deeper and deeper for justice. Even crypto Twitter raised over $1M to support legal fees and lawsuit expenses against Machi.
Later, the lawsuit was dropped, and ZachXBT emerged victorious in this David & Goliath crypto story.
1/ It’s unfortunate I have to make this thread but I am being sued by MachiBigBrother for an article I published in June 2022.
Today Machi filed the defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit is baseless and an attempt to chill free speech. I intend to fight back & defend free speech. pic.twitter.com/anVY6zXU5a
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 16, 2023
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Shills, Spreadsheets, and Zero Disclaimers: ZachXBT Blows Up Crypto Twitter’s Dirty Secrets
Crypto Twitter thrives on personalities who build cult-like followings, but the latest exposé shows just how grimy the game gets when hype meets undisclosed paychecks. And once again, ZachXBT is in the eye of the storm by revealing a spreadsheet with over 200 influencer names, complete with post pricing and wallet addresses.
NEW LEAK: Price sheet of 200+ crypto influencers and their wallet addresses from a project they were recently contacted by to promote.
From 160+ accounts who accepted the deal I only saw <5 accounts actually disclose the promotional posts as an advertisement. pic.twitter.com/Kph9dUvDxB
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) September 1, 2025
It is divided into tiers, from 1, which are the highest paid shills, some exceeding $60k for a single post, to 5th, who get meezly $50 bucks. There is direct proof for some of the transaction receipts landing directly on Solana.
According to ZachXBT, less than 5 out of those 200 influencers are disclosing their deals, which brings a bad reputation to crypto among new retail traders, as the industry itself tries to mature into a mainstream financial asset class.
That is a massive deal because perception drives liquidity in crypto. Retail buyers often ape into tokens because their favourite KOL (Key Opinion Leader) tweeted a meme, not realizing the same KOL got paid to drop it.
When the insiders dump, the small guys eat the loss. Regulators like the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) already warned about this pattern: if you are paid to post, you’ve got to disclose it clearly.
Our strategic partners are pushing Insense for FTC-compliant influencer whitelisting
Not only Insense, of course, but all its official partners
Why?
FTC fines brands for not disclosing partnerships.
#sponsored/#ad tags aren't enough.
Running the influencers' posts… pic.twitter.com/FVfyHmXBGW
— Danil | Creators for eCom (@DanilSalukov) July 25, 2024
Some are even pushing for FTC-compliant influencer whitelisting already.
In traditional markets, hiding paid promotions is a fast track to enforcement. But in crypto, it’s just another Tuesday, until someone like ZachXBT airs the laundry.
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