BitBoy Crypto Says He’s Dropping Defamation Suit Against Fellow YouTuber

Ben Armstrong said he didn’t realize his dispute with “Atozy” would become public if he sued the alleged defamer in federal court.

AccessTimeIconAug 24, 2022 at 8:49 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 4:40 p.m. UTC
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Popular crypto YouTube personality Ben Armstrong, aka BitBoy Crypto, said in a livestream Wednesday that he is dropping his defamation suit against fellow crypto-focused content creator known as Atozy.

Armstrong had filed suit against Atozy (real name Erling Mengshoel Jr.) for allegedly defaming him in a Nov. 8 video titled “This YouTuber Scams His Fans … Bitboy Crypto.” When court watchers dug up the suit it spurred an uproar over Armstrong’s business practices.

He said the suit was an attempt to defend his reputation against a video that he said insinuated he will be investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. “I’m not suing someone over their opinion,” he said.

“I didn't understand that my name is now so big that if I file a lawsuit it would be found and be made public,” Armstrong said. The suit had presented Armstrong as emotionally distressed over the video. In his livestream he said he had wanted it removed.

Addressing the alleged crypto rugpull he allegedly “knowingly” promoted, Armstrong said the project he reviewed was not the one that went live, and that he lost money in it along with his followers. He said the channel changed its approach to sponsored content after the fracas.

“We are going to drop the lawsuit, 100%. I'm sorry it became public,” he said.

Armstrong said he had emailed his lawyer about pulling the lawsuit shortly before going on air.

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Danny Nelson

Danny is CoinDesk's Managing Editor for Data & Tokens. He owns BTC, ETH and SOL.


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