Soulja Boy Crypto Journey: Explained

Several examples stand out:

• SaferMars (May 2021): Soulja Boy tweeted about SaferMars and called it “an interesting project.” He also made a mistake. He copied and pasted the tweet text that included payment terms. It exposed that he would earn $24,000 if the project raised $240,000 after his post. People saw this as proof that his endorsements were strictly paid. The token’s price soon crashed, and the project disappeared.
• RapDoge (July 2021): On July 19, he urged followers to boost RapDoge’s price and tagged other artists. The price briefly pumped. Soon after, the project drained its liquidity and vanished. Investors got stuck with worthless tokens within hours.
• Orion and Life Token (mid 2021): These two coins promoted charitable missions. Orion said it supported cancer research, and Life Token said it focused on suicide prevention. Soulja Boy endorsed both. Each project collapsed shortly afterward. Their founders disappeared. The charity claims ended up being marketing hooks, not real commitments.
• Flokinomics (October 2021): This meme coin rode the Doge and Shiba Inu trend. It even hinted at ties to Elon Musk to appear credible. Soulja Boy tweeted about it on October 9. The team then pulled all the liquidity and shut down. The website and social accounts disappeared.
• ParrotsDAO (late 2021): Soulja Boy hyped this NFT and DeFi project and encouraged token staking. Within a day, the team shut everything down and vanished. Soulja Boy deleted his tweets soon after.

Soulja Boy And NFTs

During this same period, he also launched or promoted many NFT collections. In 2021, he put out at least nine different series under names like “SouljaBoyNFT.” He sold them with promises of future perks and utility. Yet, several were abandoned. In April 2023, he even released NFTs featuring Ferrari and Nike logos without permission. OpenSea removed them within hours. He kept releasing new collections anyway, causing frustration among earlier buyers.

By the end of these promotions, on-chain data suggested he had earned around $730,000. He appeared to treat crypto shilling as a business. Reports claimed he charged up to $10,000 for a Twitter post and $12,000 for an Instagram post during the peak hype. However, the fallout from so many failed projects damaged his name in the crypto world.

Celebrity Memecoin Promotions and Fallout (Soulja Boy Among Many)

Soulja Boy’s crypto activity in 2021 fit into a much bigger celebrity trend. During that time, memecoins and speculative tokens exploded in popularity. Influencers and public figures rushed in. Many did not understand what they were promoting. Many also did not understand the legal responsibilities tied to these campaigns. Soulja Boy became one of the most active promoters. However, he was not alone.

Several examples stand out:

• RapDoge Co-Promoters: As noted earlier, Lil Yachty and Quavo helped Soulja Boy promote RapDoge in July 2021. After the rug pull, both faced heavy backlash. Lil Yachty had already endorsed several other crypto projects. He even launched his own token, “YachtyCoin,” in late 2020. Later, he faced lawsuits and regulatory pressure tied to token promotions.
• SafeMoon Influencers: SafeMoon rocketed to popularity in 2021. Internet personalities and musicians endorsed it. Soulja Boy also tweeted about SafeMoon. Then in 2022, a class-action lawsuit accused him and others of misleading investors to benefit themselves. It included Jake Paul and Nick Carter. Fans who trusted these celebrities lost money, and regulators took notice.
• Tron and BitTorrent Promotions: In March 2023, the U.S. SEC targeted a group of celebrities for unlawfully promoting TRX and BTT. The group included Soulja Boy, Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Akon, Lil Yachty, Ne-Yo, and others. Regulators said they failed to disclose that they were paid to promote these tokens. That violated securities laws. Most of the accused settled by paying large fines. For example, some settlements reached around $400,000. They did so without admitting guilt. Soulja Boy and Austin Mahone did not settle right away, so Soulja Boy’s case remained open for some time. This showed the SEC’s growing willingness to pursue celebrity crypto promoters.
• Other Cases: Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather came under fire for promoting EthereumMax, also known as EMAX. Kim Kardashian later paid a $1.26 million SEC fine for not revealing her payment. In 2018, both Mayweather and DJ Khaled were also fined for promoting ICOs without proper disclosure. Paris Hilton and Steven Seagal had similar experiences in the crypto space. Their reputations took hits, and Seagal faced regulatory action as well.

Overall, Soulja Boy joined a long list of celebrities tied to questionable crypto schemes. By late 2022, public opinion had shifted. Fans felt more skeptical. Regulators became more aggressive. Soulja Boy’s name, in particular, grew linked to risky, get-rich-quick tokens. This context shaped how people reacted when he attempted to return to crypto later.

December 2025: Return with a Creator Token on Base

Soulja Boy returned to crypto in December 2025 after a quieter stretch following the regulatory crackdowns. This time, he presented himself as a more serious Web3 creator. He launched a personal creator token on Base, which is Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 network. The token, often called $SOULJABOY, was part of a larger creator monetization concept.

He promoted the idea by comparing crypto income with social media revenue. For example, he said Twitch pays once each month. TikTok pays once a week. Platform X pays daily. He hinted that blockchain platforms could pay creators even more directly and more often. He framed this as a way for artists to earn daily income through on-chain tools. The idea landed during a renewed wave of interest in social and creator tokens.

The launch gained extra attention when Jesse Pollak, a Coinbase executive and the lead at Base, interacted with Soulja Boy online. Pollak posted on X that he “just backed Soulja Boy on Base and had instantly earned.” He described this as an example of the “new internet” spirit. He did not offer financial advice or directly name the token. Yet his message suggested he supported Soulja Boy’s launch in some form. Pollak also highlighted Base as a platform focused on creator monetization.

This raised immediate concerns. Many felt Pollak’s comments gave Soulja Boy credibility he did not deserve. Others said that the message conflicted with Base’s usual emphasis on compliance and quality. Because of Soulja Boy’s controversial history in crypto, Pollak’s post struck critics as risky and confusing. They argued that it linked Base to a celebrity who had promoted many failed or fraudulent tokens.

Backlash: Community Reacts and Soulja Boy’s Apology

The reaction came quickly. Critics in the crypto community pushed back, and most responses were negative. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT questioned Pollak publicly, asking why Soulja Boy should get a platform again. Others said that Soulja Boy had a long record of supporting projects that collapsed or disappeared. They feared that Pollak’s post signaled acceptance of a figure tied to repeated crypto failures.

Many observers argued that the issue went beyond one token. They felt it undermined trust in Base and Coinbase. They worried that it shifted focus from real innovation to celebrity hype. Some pointed out that when trusted builders interact with controversial influencers, credibility can erode very fast.

Soon after the criticism spread, Soulja Boy addressed the situation. On December 15, 2025, he posted a public apology on X. He acknowledged his mistakes from 2021 through 2023 and admitted to poor judgment. Soulja said that he “was doing paid promos without understanding the crypto and NFT space” at that time. He claimed he has since learned how crypto works and now understands the industry much better.

He also stated that he did not knowingly promote scams. Then he named a person he believed had misled him. He said he had “no knowledge that a scammer named Sahil was involved or paying me to promote anything fraudulent.” This appears to reference Sahil Arora, who has been linked to many celebrity memecoin schemes. Soulja Boy suggested that a middleman arranged the paid promotions and hid the truth about the projects. Critics remain divided on that claim because he endorsed so many questionable projects.

In his apology, he stressed that these events happened years ago. He expressed regret and said he wants to be transparent going forward. He asked the crypto community for a second chance and tried to turn the page on his past reputation.

However, the timing of the apology raised questions. He posted it only after reentering the space with his own token. Some analysts mocked this approach. Others pointed out that the crypto world had already documented the long list of failed projects long before he said sorry.

In summary, Soulja Boy’s crypto journey has been turbulent. He showed early interest. Then he promoted dozens of risky projects. Many ended in disaster for buyers. Regulators got involved, and his reputation suffered. Now he is trying to start fresh with a creator token on Base. The reaction shows how difficult it is to regain trust in crypto. Soulja Boy says he learned from past mistakes and promises to act responsibly today. Even so, many people remain cautious. His story highlights the risks of celebrity-backed tokens and why investors and platforms need to stay careful.