From Crypto King to Legal Trouble: The Unraveling of BitBoy
Ben Armstrong, better known as BitBoy Crypto, was once the loudest voice in retail crypto investing. His YouTube channel topped a million subscribers, his tweets moved markets, and his endorsements could send obscure tokens skyrocketing. But by March 2025, he was sitting in a Florida jail, facing felony charges for allegedly threatening a judge. It’s a long way from Bitcoin evangelist to accused felon—so how did it all go wrong?
The Rise and the Fall
Armstrong got into crypto early, buying Bitcoin at $12.50 back in 2012. By 2018, he’d turned that interest into a media empire, building BitBoy Crypto into one of the most-watched channels in the space. His style was blunt, sometimes abrasive, but his followers loved it. For a while, it worked.
Then came the leaks. In 2023, a rate card surfaced online showing he allegedly charged $40,000 for YouTube reviews, $20,000 for tweets. Worse, many of the projects he promoted—DISTX, HEX, SAFEMOON—collapsed or were later accused of fraud. On-chain data suggested insiders dumped tokens right after his endorsements.
By mid-2023, his reputation was crumbling. Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT published a damning thread tying him to abandoned projects like MYX and LOCK, where investors lost over a million dollars combined. Then came the livestream where he appeared drunk, followed by his ouster from HIT Network. Revenue plummeted from $500,000 a month to barely $50,000.
Desperation and Decline
Things got weirder. In early 2024, he fought a memecoin promoter in a boxing match in Mexico City. Tokens tied to the event surged, then crashed. The SEC issued warnings about influencer-driven pumps. His personal life frayed—divorce finalized, unpaid alimony, a GoFundMe for legal fees.
Then, in March 2025, the arrest. A domestic dispute led to his detention, but the bigger issue was the alleged threats against a Georgia judge. If convicted, he could face years in prison.
Armstrong’s story isn’t just about crypto. It’s about what happens when influence spirals unchecked—when staying relevant matters more than credibility. His audience once trusted him. Now, his X account posts pleas for support while his legal battles drag on.
Maybe it was always going to end this way. The crypto space rewards loud voices, but it doesn’t forgive mistakes. And BitBoy’s mistakes, it seems, were too big to ignore.
