Popular Twitch streamer DNP3, the founder of several virtual currency projects, has opened up about his gambling addiction, which resulted in the loss of investor funds.
DNP3 made the shocking revelation to his Twitter followers on January 3, admitting his guilt and expressing remorse. The streamer was behind multiple Web 3 projects like The Goobers NFT, charity-based CluCOin, and the Gridcraft Network.
His statement revealed that his addiction began in 2022, and trying to recoup the losses suffered only led to larger losses. Projects affiliated with DNP3 tumbled following the announcements, with The Goopers Project losing market capitalization while CluCoin’s suffered over 10% loss in less than 24 hours.
“Over the last year, I got incredibly addicted to gambling. Every dollar I could find I would put into Stake in hopes of winning big. Even when the big wins did happen it wasn’t enough. Eventually I lost everything. In addition to my own life savings, I also irresponsibly used investor funds to try and “get my money back” from the casino which was wrong for so many reasons,” DNP3 wrote.
At the moment, it is not clear the exact amount of investor funds DNP3 gambled away, but a fair estimate suggests that the amount could run well into six figures. DNP3 disclosed that a sponsored stream with a gambling company triggered the betting addiction but added that he is “working with a help group to start the path to recovery.”
“I will create a separate tweet which will have next steps for each project I was involved with including CLU, Xenia, Gridcraft, and Goobers,” he wrote. “I am sorry that I did not live up to my values of integrity. I am sorry that I let you all down. I am sorry.”
Not the first time in the ecosystem
Incidents of founders blowing customer funds via gambling is not new in the virtual currency industry. In 2022, Onepad shut down its operations after a top executive was discovered to have gambled the funds using leveraged trading, losing over $400,000 in under three months.
“Important Update: After careful consideration of all the remaining resources at our disposal and keeping in mind everyone’s best interest in mind we have decided to officially end Onepad.” the team tweeted. “We thank everyone who supported us and we will put out a refund plan before the end of May.”
Negative reports of mismanagement of funds have followed the industry into the new year after enduring a turbulent 2022. Global regulators are working assiduously to prevent a repeat of large-scale implosions that cost investors billions in losses.
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