A well known crypto influencer is facing backlash on Twitter after a newly released court document reveals that she received $30,000 from now-bankrupt crypto lender Celsius for endorsement deals.
Maren Altman’s critics are accusing her of receiving endorsement payments to develop positive content about the company as it faced cash flow problems.
Moreover, they criticized her for not being more transparent about receiving payments.
Altman Calls Accusations a ‘Witch Hunt’
During an interview with CoinDesk, the Bitcoin and Ethereum astrologist said that while Celsius did pay her for the endorsement-related content, the accusations on Twitter are a witch hunt.
As an astrologer who offers investment predictions, she has a massive following of over a million users across different social media platforms.
She stated that she has discussed the prospect of taking legal action with an attorney, specifically suing for defamation.
Acknowledging her mistake, she said that she shouldn’t have trusted Celsius, indicating that she had ‘no clue’ of the company’s finances.
Celsius in Hot Water after Declaring Bankruptcy
The backlash comes after Celsius underwent numerous court proceedings over paying back customers and shareholders.
Released last week, a court document revealed that former CEO and founder of Celsius, Alex Mashinsky, withdrew around $17 million from the lender’s system along with another executive.
Considering that this was just before Celsius froze users’ accounts, which prevented them from making withdrawals, and filed for bankruptcy.
Ever since the Celsius incident, crypto prices have fallen, along with people’s confidence in the crypto industry. Celsius blamed the bankruptcy on the collapse of terraUSD and LUNA.
Altman Says Crypto Endorsement No Different From ‘Fashion Ad’
As of late, plenty of crypto companies are paying influencers on social media to endorse their tokens or raise awareness among followers.
From Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton to Matt Damon and Tom Brady, it has become a raging trend, even if these celebs don’t prefer investing in crypto.
Altman partnered with Celsius in March to a sponsored marketing campaign. She talks about the crypto lender in her YouTube videos, claiming that Celsius is where she buys cryptocurrencies.
Unable to recognize where she went wrong, she defended her decision, saying that the partnership was the same thing as a fashion advertisement.
In the interview, she shared that as per the contract, she would get $15,000 for posting 2 ads in the middle of her YouTube videos, and making 2 mentions of the crypto lender on TikTok.
At the same time, the contract also specified that she shouldn’t mention CEL token by making any statements or analyses.
Clarifying her stance, she said that she didn’t talk about anything illegal as per standards in the US, as she didn’t endorse investing in a specific token.
