He’s Lost His Marriage, His Followers and His Lamborghini - The New York Times


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The Rise and Fall of BitBoy

The article chronicles the dramatic fall from grace of Ben Armstrong, a popular cryptocurrency influencer known as BitBoy. His story highlights the volatile nature of the crypto world and the risks associated with influencer endorsements.

The Lamborghini and the Lifestyle

Armstrong's acquisition of a Lamborghini Huracán Performante symbolized his success as a crypto influencer, showcasing a lavish lifestyle fueled by his YouTube channel and crypto promotions. His YouTube channel boasted over a million subscribers. He promoted various experimental cryptocurrencies, suggesting substantial wealth and success.

The Downward Spiral

However, within two years, Armstrong experienced a significant reversal of fortune. He lost his production company and substantial wealth, his close relationships deteriorated, and he faced a divorce. He publicly attributed his downfall to a supposed criminal conspiracy, claiming his YouTube channel was compromised.

The Current Situation

Armstrong's claims of a conspiracy remain unsubstantiated. He's lost significant influence, both financially and in his online presence. The article suggests that his previous claims about cryptocurrency riches were misleading, culminating in a stark contrast to his once celebrated lifestyle.

  • Lost his Lamborghini
  • Lost his production company
  • Lost followers
  • Divorce
  • Claims of a criminal conspiracy
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With its streamlined curves and glow-in-the-dark sound system, the silver Lamborghini Huracán Performante was the stuff of teenage fantasy: $350,000 of aerodynamic metals and lightweight upholstery, packed into a taut and powerful body. Ben Armstrong loved it dearly.

When he started shopping for a Lamborghini, Mr. Armstrong, a cryptocurrency evangelist with more than one million YouTube subscribers, worried that he’d have to spend months searching. “I think I have to go to Italy to get the Lambo I want,” he texted a business partner. “I don’t want to compromise.” But fate smiled on him. In the fall of 2021, a car dealership in Charlotte, N.C., shipped the Huracán to Mr. Armstrong’s production studio in an Atlanta suburb.

As the Lamborghini was lowered from a delivery truck, Mr. Armstrong, better known by the nom de crypto BitBoy, let out a joyful laugh. “I may have shed a tear,” he said at the time.

Back then, BitBoy was one of the most popular figures in the wild, scam-ridden world of crypto influencers. Cultivating a persona as a straight-talking everyman, he filmed a livestream five days a week in which he lectured his hundreds of thousands of listeners on the virtues of experimental coins with names like Polkadot or XRP. He said that regulators were fools, and that digital money offered a path to upward mobility. The Lamborghini was vivid proof: Crypto would make you rich and cool and successful.

Two years later, Mr. Armstrong, 41, has lost his production company and much of his wealth. His friends have turned on him, and his wife has filed for divorce. Over the last five months, across countless social media posts and videos, Mr. Armstrong has claimed to be the victim of a “criminal conspiracy” by “terrorists” who took over his YouTube channel. “BitBoy is dead,” he recently declared.

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