On This Day07.05.2021
The Dark Underbelly Of Purpose Coins
On July 5, 2021, the internet witnessed a masterclass in how not to do crypto. It started with a mission: “Save the Kids.” A charity token promising to use blockchain for good — to help real children. The whole thing sounded noble. A team of prominent YouTubers and esports personalities — including members of FaZe Clan , one of the biggest gaming orgs in the world — backed a new Binance Smart Chain token called $KIDS . Promotional tweets, heartfelt messages, even custom tokenomics that delayed sell-offs to discourage rug pulls. Except… none of it worked. Within minutes of launch, wallets linked to the promoters sold off massive portions of their holdings. The price plummeted. The project collapsed. And the "Save the Kids" token became the punchline of crypto summer.
“I didn’t know what I was promoting. I thought it was legit. I got scammed too.”
FaZe Kay , one of the most vocal promoters, was swiftly booted from the organization. Others — including FaZe Jarvis, Nikan, and Teeqo — were suspended . Suddenly, everyone had an excuse. But the blockchain didn’t lie. Wallet activity showed coordinated sells, contradicting the influencers’ public claims. What began as a charity token quickly became a crash course in retail exploitation, influencer irresponsibility, and the dark underbelly of cloutcoin culture . And if you were online that summer? You remember. The memes. The meltdowns. The apologies filmed in hoodies and bad lighting. This wasn’t just a scam. It was a cultural turning point — a moment when degen culture collided with influencer culture, and something broke. It raised questions that still echo today:
Should influencers be allowed to promote financial products without consequence?
How do we protect young audiences from crypto hype?And can we ever really "save the kids" — if we keep giving them to the wolves? So on this day, we remember the Save the Kids scandal — not as a footnote in crypto history, but as a cautionary tale wrapped in good intentions and bad execution. A token that promised hope , delivered chaos , and left the rest of us wondering: W.T.F. Was That?
