Crypto influencer Jaypeg has been accused of running a promotional scam involving the "Uptober" memecoin, sparking outrage within the crypto community. The Uptober team claims Jaypeg received tokens as part of a promotional deal, only to sell them and later deny receiving the funds.

According to the Uptober team, Jaypeg was paid 2% of the token’s supply, valued at $2,200, to promote the project. However, shortly after accepting the deal in a Telegram thread, Jaypeg allegedly deleted the wallet address where the tokens were sent, claiming it was a "random" address unrelated to him.

Blockchain investigator ZackXBT was brought in to verify the claims. His investigation revealed that the wallet in question had previously claimed airdrops from Solana’s Saga smartphone—just hours after Jaypeg posted an unboxing video of the phone. This connection cast serious doubt on Jaypeg’s denial of the wallet ownership.

Despite the evidence, Jaypeg maintains his innocence, suggesting the Uptober team was attempting to blackmail him. In response to the controversy, he publicly apologized and claimed to have donated the funds to charity.

As memecoins surge in popularity, scandals like this are putting a spotlight on the darker side of promotional deals. Recent data shows a rising interest in memecoins, with over 600,000 new tokens created on the Solana network since September 2024, and search volume for memecoins nearing all-time highs. Meanwhile, interest in Bitcoin has hit a one-year low, indicating that memecoins are stealing the spotlight in the current market frenzy.