In case you forgot: controversial YouTuber Logan Paul promised to repay millions of dollars to people who fell victim to his NFT “game” CryptoZoo. The game – so to speak Pokémon– such as where you collect, sell and trade exotic animals on the blockchain – but never really existed, leaving the embattled content creator behind a big class action lawsuit on his desk. Now, after vowing refunds, Paul has delivered, even though you aren’t allowed to sue him if you take his money.
Read more: YouTuber: Logan Paul’s NFT ‘Game’ Is a Major Crypto Scam
Let me update you real quick. In 2021, Paul attempted to launch CryptoZoo, a “play-to-earn” NFT game that the YouTuber described as “really fun.” Using the in-game currency of Zoom Coins, you would purchase egg NFTs that would hatch into animals that you would then breed to create rare hybrids that would yield more Zoom Coins the rarer they were. Once you withdraw the Zoo Coins, the money will flow into your crypto wallet. Sounds like an easy way to make passive income by doing nothing.
Unfortunately, none of that happened. Indeed, as YouTube investigator Stephen “Coffeezilla” Findeisen discovered a three-part seriesNot only was the game never playable, but people lost a lot of money on something that didn’t exist because, as Paul put it, “with menu“crept into the project and disrupted its feasibility. This whole fiasco caused Paul to try to right the wrongs through actions a three-step plan that would see him “finish and deliver” CryptoZoo while raising $1.3 million for people who want to divest from the whole thing.
A few years later, Paul is now offering to buy back CryptoZoo NFTs, essentially compensating people who lost hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars. In a post from January 4th on X/TwitterPaul announced that the buyback program, for which he said he is “personally committing” $2.3 million, will be offered through February 8th. You just have to do it submit a claim online to see if you are eligible.
“As I said a year ago, CryptoZoo was derailed by malicious actors. Bad actors who stole money and who betrayed our team while sabotaging the game internally,” Paul said in part of the X/Twitter post. “This has now been confirmed through an extensive investigation, which included forensic analysis of blockchain activity and review of thousands of communications. […] For me, this buyback is a way to relieve those who wanted to play CryptoZoo. The buyback is not intended to compensate those who gambled and lost in the crypto market.”
That’s great. We look forward to a refund. However, if you click through the terms and conditions of the submission form, you’ll see the catch. If you accept the Agreement, you “waive any and all actual or anticipated claims against Paul.” This means that if you are eligible to participate in the buyback program, you contractually swear that you will not participate in the class action lawsuit or take legal action against the YouTuber or anyone associated with him and CryptoZoo for any reason – monetary or otherwise.
In X/Twitter DMs with My cityRichard Hoeg, a lawyer specializing in digital and video game law, said what Paul is doing is fairly common in court.
“Well, that would essentially be a settlement agreement,” Hoeg said. “Contractually, a settlement works where one side agrees to pay money, and the other side agrees that all of its claims are extinguished by the payment, and it promises not to sue over those extinguished claims.”
My city I asked Paul for comment.
Read more: Logan Paul says some of his NFT game developers were “scammers,” but he didn’t cheat
For his part, Paul openly admitted the X/Twitter post from January 4th that CryptoZoo “will not be released” because there are “too many regulatory hurdles to overcome,” which he believes would ultimately delay the buyback program. He also confirmed that it is him filed a countersuit in Texas against the “bad actors” to hold them accountable for their shit, although Paul didn’t name any names. This is all still happening against the backdrop of the class action lawsuit he is currently facing.
