Logan Paul NFT buyback shows celebs can’t ‘play around’ in Web3

Community members have reacted to YouTuber Logan Paul’s buyback announcement, delivering on his year-old promise to refund the disgruntled investors of his nonfungible token (NFT) project CryptoZoo.

The NFT project was supposed to be a play-to-earn (P2E) game that lets players buy, sell, breed and trade animals with crypto. The YouTuber announced the project in August 2021, but the game was never released. This sparked allegations of fraud and led to a class-action lawsuit against the celebrity.

*Community member criticizing the images on Paul’s NFT project. Source: X*

Throughout the controversy, several commentators called out Paul to make the investors whole. They’ve also kept a watchful eye on the progress since Paul promised refunds almost a year ago.

On Jan. 4, Paul finally shared a website that lets the NFT holders participate in a $2.3-million buyback program, where Paul would repurchase the NFTs at their original price. According to the YouTuber, claims can be submitted on the website through Feb. 4.

Related: Logan Paul backflips on defamation lawsuit against Coffeezilla, apologizes

While the news looks positive for those who bought the NFTs, some believe there’s an ulterior motive behind Paul’s move. YouTube sleuth Stephen Findeisen, better known as “Coffeezilla,” posted on X (Twitter) to flag a disclaimer on the website saying that buyback program participants are "waiving any actual or anticipated claims” against Paul and CryptoZoo.

Meanwhile, others celebrated the move as a win for the community. Crypto content creator Mason Versluis celebrated the fact that Paul is officially refunding CryptoZoo investors. The content creator added that mainstream celebrities “can’t just play around in the Web3 space with no accountability.”

YouTuber Erling Mengshoel Jr., more commonly known as “Atozy,” gave a shoutout to commentary channels that held Paul accountable. According to Mengshoel, who has almost 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube, this wouldn’t have happened without them.

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