UFC star Khamzat Chimaev has recently come under heavy criticism following allegations of fraud related to his cryptocurrency, SMASH. The controversy erupted when SMASH plummeted by 96% in value shortly after Chimaev promoted it on social media, leading to significant financial losses for his fans.
Blockchain detective ZachXBT has alleged that the majority of the accounts that sold SMASH during its crash belonged to the development team, which purportedly has ties to Chimaev. This has led to accusations of a “pump and dump” scheme, a form of market manipulation where the value of an asset is artificially inflated before being sold off for profit.
The situation escalated when Chimaev took to social media, asking his followers which cryptocurrency he should invest in. The next day, he introduced his own cryptocurrency, SMASH. In a now-deleted video, Chimaev said,
“There is a cryptocurrency about me called SMASH. Let’s ‘smash’ together, guys. Let’s go!”
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#UFC star Khamzat Chimaev is getting exposed for pump and dumping a crypto coin and stealing millions 😳 pic.twitter.com/763VVHEKsf
— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) July 5, 2024
Fans quickly bought into SMASH, only to see its value nosedive hours later. The incident has drawn widespread backlash, prompting Chimaev to delete all related videos from his social media accounts. While “pump and dump” schemes are illegal in traditional stock markets, the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies remains murky, leaving it unclear whether Chimaev’s actions were legally punishable.
Chimaev, who is currently recovering from a hand surgery following his fight against Kamaru Usman at UFC 294, has not yet publicly addressed these allegations in detail.
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