David Schwartz, Ripple’s CTO, has reiterated his negative opinion of Ben Armstrong, a well-known crypto influencer and YouTuber also known as BitBoy. Schwartz’s recent comments stem from allegations that BitBoy has sold his BEN tokens, despite previously pledging to hold onto them.

“I was hating on him before it was cool,” David Schwartz disclosed in a recent tweet, highlighting that he was already critical of the crypto influencer before such criticism became socially acceptable.

That is how scammers operate, we can only hope that over time people finally learn, but many won't, unfortunately.

— 𝕾𝖈𝖆𝖒𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖇𝖆𝖉 (@ScamDetective5) May 18, 2023

Ariel Givner, a corporate lawyer with a focus on web3 technology and the Founder & Principal Attorney of Givner Law firm, disclosed that BitBoy expressed strong belief in the BEN project, which he has close connections to. Givner stated that in an interview on May 14, BitBoy emphasized his intention to hold onto his BEN tokens and expressed no intentions of selling them.

Related Reading: Ripple Acquires Metaco In a $250 Million Deal

Furthermore, On-chain data indicates that there is evidence suggesting BitBoy may have already sold the BEN tokens in his portfolio, as claimed by Givner. Givner pointed out that: “Today he sold his BEN tokens for roughly 45 ETH. A tale as old as time,” and she shared proof of the transaction to support her statement.

I interviewed @Bitboy_Crypto the other day about $BEN. For over an hour, he stated this project meant something to him, that he was going to “lift crypto up” and had no plans to sell.

Today he sold his $BEN tokens for roughly 45 $ETH.

A tale as old as time.

— Ariel Givner, Esq. (@GivnerAriel) May 17, 2023

According to data obtained from Etherscan, the wallet address associated with the well-known crypto influencer conducted three separate transactions within a span of three hours, exchanging 1 trillion BEN tokens for 45 Ether (ETH). The total value of the ETH obtained from these transactions is currently over $81,000. 

Furthermore, these transactions resulted in the complete depletion of the BEN token balance in the wallet.

In response to the accusations, BitBoy defended himself by stating that he needed to transfer the funds in order to facilitate a transaction related to the Ben Coin Foundation. He justified his decision not to disclose the transaction, citing a desire to avoid controversy. However, many supporters are skeptical of this explanation and view it with skepticism.

Ripple CTO Previously Tagged BEN a Scam

Schwartz, taking the opportunity to criticize BitBoy once again, had previously referred to the BEN project as a scam, as reported by The Crypto Basic. The CTO of Ripple confirmed his agreement with the assertion that the project could be a potential rug-pull.

BitBoy refuted the allegations and emphasized that as a prominent figure in the crypto industry for over five years, he would not engage in a rug-pull. He reiterated his previous statements about intending to hold his BEN tokens for at least six months. 
In a recent development, BitBoy made a bet by wagering 5 BTC on the belief that BEN’s market capitalization will be higher in one year compared to its current value.