BitBoy Crypto is suing fellow YouTuber Atozy for defamation over shilling claims

Two prominent YouTube content creators are set to lock horns in a legal battle over a cryptocurrency video allegedly promoting a project that ended up being a scam.

Bitboy Crypto, a YouTube channel founded by Ben Armstrong, produces a variety of content focused on cryptocurrency news, projects and tokens, and trading advice. The channel has been active since February 2018 and has over 1.4 million subscribers.

The channel is known for its news features and trade-focused videos with headlines such as ‘Top 3 Coins to Outperform Ethereum! (Strong short-term play)’ typical of the type of content conveyed to viewers.

Although these videos purport to offer trading advice, the channel has a disclaimer that clearly states that Armstrong is not ‘a professional advisor in business areas involving finance, cryptocurrency, tax, securities and commodity trading, or law enforcement.’ The channel’s content states that it is intended for general informational purposes only.

Bitboy Crypto has previously faced criticism from the wider cryptocurrency community for allegedly misleading viewers about various tokens and projects. Armstrong has attempted to refute these claims, with a prime example being a fiery podcast conversation hosted by cryptocurrency investor Anthony Pompliano in November 2021.

Related: BitBoy Founder Threatens Class Action Against Celsius

An incident involving comments posted by another YouTuber on a 2020 BitBoy video has led Armstrong to seek legal action. Erling Mengshoel Jr, better known by his YouTube channel name Atozy, came across a now-deleted video on the Bitboy channel promoting a project called the Pamp network token in 2020.

The project ended on a sour note when investors were left empty-handed after a reported “rug-pull” from the founders. According to data from Coingecko, PAMP tokens are worth fractions of a dollar, down from an all-time high of $2.73 in July 2020.

In the wake of the PAMP failure, Atozy revisited the Bitboy video to post comments labeling Armstrong as “shady” to mislead viewers. Atozy went on to make a full video on his channel in November 2021 titled “This YouTuber Scams His Fans… Bitboy Crypto”and alleged that Armstrong had been dishonest as a self-proclaimed cryptocurrency expert to promote a project that ended up crashing.

Armstrong officially filed a federal complaint against Mengshoel on August 12 in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta, alleging a number of allegations including defamation, infliction of emotional distress and tortious interference with business or prospective business relationships.

Mengshoel was eventually served at his home a few days later and has asked for help from viewers and the cryptocurrency community to deal with what he described as a “frivolous” lawsuit from Armstrong.

Mengshoel has since launched a GoFundMe account to face the lawsuit directly, with Armstrong seeking $75,000 worth of damages and legal fees. The GoFundMe has received over $20,000 in the 24 hours since its launch, with over 450 contributors to date.

Cointelegraph has contacted both parties for comment on the proceedings and will update this article accordingly.