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Elliptic identified wallet addresses associated with Hustler University, an online “financial education” platform headed by controversial – and now banned – social media influencer Andrew Tate.

The platform has received over $2.5 million in crypto payments, according to Elliptic analysis. He claims to teach subscribers how to get rich quick and charges over $4,400 per person for full access to his “courses”.

Kickboxer and ex Big brother Contestant Tate is known for his controversial views that have recently brought him into the spotlight on social media. Many of his views – which have led to him being banned from all mainstream social media platforms – have been classified as misogynistic or promoting violence against women. Fans and critics have also dubbed him “the king of toxic masculinity”.

Hustler University

Tate’s website offers a set of online educational courses called “Hustler University,” which includes instruction from a number of “professors” on topics such as freelancing, stocks, mindset, and crypto. Hustler University “2.0” – which was recently shut down during the apparent construction of Hustler University “3.0” – was accepting payments in Bitcoins and Ethers.

The courses are heavily promoted by Tate, who often uses his own wealth and inflammatory commentary to drum up interest in his platform. Course subscribers are also advised to encourage interest in a similar manner. Elliptic was unable to locate any consumer protection warnings on public content prior to payment, which is usually a legal requirement when providing financial advice.

Investigation into The Observer the paper revealed that members – reportedly numbering more than 100,000 – were told to repost Tate’s most controversial videos to maintain his viral presence on social media. They also earned a commission from every new recruit to the platform – leading many to claim that the platform resembles a typical pyramid scheme. His affiliate program was shut down shortly after the investigation.

hustlers-university

Screenshot of Hustler University’s “curriculum”.

Elliptic has identified two deposit addresses – in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) – that subscribers can make a payment to access the online courses. Our analysis shows that the addresses received $1.6 million in bitcoin payments alone, in more than 177 transactions.

Over $158,000 in ETH, $0.5 million in Tether (USDT), and close to $200,000 in USD Coin (USDC) were paid into the Ethereum account – for a total of over $866,000 paid in Ethereum-based assets.

All funds are deposited into an account on a centralized exchange.

Merging cryptocurrencies with extremist rhetoric

Tate’s social media accounts have garnered over 11.6 billion views, spreading comments that women are the “property” of men and that rape victims “should take some responsibility” for their assaults. He was recently banned from all major platforms, including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Tate also caused controversy after his home was raided by Romanian police as part of a human trafficking investigation in April 2022. Tate has previously noted that he lives in Romania because he feels the threat of legal proceedings against him is less.

But Tate is not the only person who has tried to combine what many characterize as controversial or extreme rhetoric with financial advice. In June 2022, Telegram channels used QAnon rhetoric to encourage followers to invest in fraudulent tokens on the Stellar blockchain that were found to have contributed to millions in investor losses and even an alleged suicide.

Political extremists—especially those who advocate individual autonomy from government oversight—often tout cryptocurrencies as an alternative to mainstream donation campaigns. Their interest in cryptocurrencies has grown since many mainstream payment providers have suspended the accounts of prominent individuals known to distribute inflammatory content.

Regulations around this space continue to evolve and may vary by jurisdiction. Virtual asset services can use Elliptic’s wallet verification and transaction monitoring tools to ensure they are not processing transactions related to illegal activity and to get a holistic view of risk across assets and blockchains.

Elliptic recently investigated the use of Dogecoin in illegal activities, including donations linked to extremism and terrorist financing. These findings demonstrate the awareness and adoption of a wide range of cryptoassets for illicit actors and reinforce the importance of block analysis solutions in the compliance toolkit.

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