Esports organisation Faze Clan has kicked out one member and suspended three more after a cryptocurrency push the members were involved in has been labelled a scam.
FaZe Clan has released a statement on Twitter announcing that they have “made the decision to remove Frazier “Kay” Khattri from FaZe Clan, and have suspended Jarvis “Jarvis” Khattri), Nikan “Nikan” Nadim, and Jakob “Teeqo” until further notice.”
The four members of FaZe Clan, Kay, Jarvis, Nikan, and Teeqo, were involved in launching a cryptocurrency called Save The Kids, which released in June. The currency was an alternative to the likes of Dogecoin, Bitcoin, and Etherium. The difference with Save The Kids is that a percentage of proceeds were promised to charity.
The members of FaZe Clan involved had been promoting the coin to their fanbase. Those who purchased the coin found themselves losing lots of money as the value plummeted. This occurs when investors sell their tokens as soon as they gain value. This mass cash out is referred to as “pumping and dumping” and leaves new investors caught out with considerable losses.
A statement from FaZe Clan. pic.twitter.com/HnPXpAoSYX
— FaZe Clan (@FaZeClan) July 1, 2021
There is uncertainty about FaZe’s involvement, and questions are being asked if the members involved had used their fame to promote the coin just for financial gain. Many are upset that the brand put forward a bad investment to their fans, costing them serious sums of money.
In their statement, FaZe adds that “FaZe Clan had absolutely no involvement with our members’ activity in the cryptocurrency space, and we strongly condemn their recent behaviour. The trust and respect of our fans has been, and will always be our number one priority.”
I want you all to know that I had no ill intent promoting any crypto alt coins. I honestly & naively thought we all had a chance to win which just isn’t the case. I didn’t vet any of this with my team at FaZe and I now know I should have.
— FaZe Kay (@FaZeKay) June 27, 2021
Why Kay was removed from FaZe while the other three were only suspended remains unclear.
Kay took to Twitter to defend himself, saying he “had no ill intent promoting any crypto altcoins. I honestly & naively thought we all had a chance to win which just isn’t the case. I didn’t vet any of this with my team at FaZe, and I now know I should have.”
In other news, Crypto-miners have been buying graphics cards in bulk which has driven the price of GPU’s up. Over 700,000 cards went to crypto mining in 2020.