YouTuber and social media influencer Logan Paul is set to refund certain disgruntled investors of his once ambitious CryptoZoo nonfungible token (NFT) game — a year after he promised NFT buyers recourse.
Logan said the “buy back” program will be funded by $2.3 million he is personally committing and will involve buying back Base Eggs and Base Animals at the original purchase price “for every person who intended to play CryptoZoo.”
CryptoZoo was a never-released play-to-earn game allowing players to buy, sell, breed and trade “exotic animals” (represented as NFTs) with crypto. It was first announced by Paul in August, 2021.
Players would buy “Base Eggs” to be hatched into “Base Animals” that could also be bred and yield $ZOO tokens daily. Over $6.7 million in Base Eggs (3,009 ETH) have been traded on OpenSea.
Today, I am incredibly happy to announce that I am delivering on my promise to buy back Base Egg and Base Animal CryptoZoo NFTs for their original purchase price. This buy-back program is being carried out at https://t.co/XIQzLAGKiG. Claims can be submitted through this site… pic.twitter.com/VMPDHvdXkq
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) January 4, 2024
“Like you, I was highly disappointed that the game was not delivered,” he added, speaking to his 6.8 million followers,” Paul said in a Jan. 4 X (formerly Twitter) post.
The buy-back program is taking place at “EGGNFTBUYBACK.COM” and claims can be submitted until Feb. 8, Paul added.
According to the terms and conditions, those eligible will receive 0.1 ETH, currently worth $224, for each eligible NFT they submit. Successful claimants must not move their eligible NFTs out of their wallets after they're determined to be eligible.
"Hybrid animal NFTs will not be eligible for the Buy-Back," the terms stated, while Paul added that investors who held the CryptoZoo-linked “ZOO” token won’t be compensated under the buy-back program either. ZOO is 99.99% off its all-time high price, according to CoinGecko.
In addition, those who decide to participate in the buy-back program would also be forced to waive any current or future claims involving Paul and any related personnel, , according to the terms.
Related: Investors still waiting on $1.9M refund Logan Paul promised 6 months ago: Coffeezilla
As part of his X post, Paul also announced he had filed a cross-claim lawsuit against CryptoZoo lead developer Eduardo Ibanez and Jake Greenbaum in a Texas federal court.
In a lawsuit initially brought by a participant in February 2023 alleging that Paul, Ibanez, Greenbaum and two other team members engaged in a “fraudulent venture” to execute a “rug pull” — Paul shifted the blame to Ibanez and Greenbaum.
“CryptoZoo was derailed by bad actors. Bad actors who DID steal money and who betrayed our team while internally sabotaging the game,” added Paul on X.
“Nefarious trading activity taken behind our backs, without our knowledge, and with the intention of defrauding us all.”
Paul reiterated in his recent post that he “never made a single penny from the project.”
The buy-back program comes almost 12 months after Paul announced CryptoZoo’s recovery plan.
He has also confirmed that CryptoZoo won’t be released, citing financial constraints and too many regulatory hurdles as the two main reasons behind the decision.
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