SpaceX Brand Crypto Fraud
Summary
The SpaceX brand has been systematically exploited by unaffiliated third-party scammers to promote fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes since at least 2020. SpaceX (the aerospace company founded by Elon Musk) has no official cryptocurrency, token, or digital asset. Documented fraud typologies include fake token presales with rug pulls on Uniswap, fake crypto giveaway and doubling scams, AI deepfake livestreams on YouTube and social media, and wallet-draining airdrop phishing sites — collectively responsible for tens of millions of dollars in documented victim losses.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigationsTimeline(9 events)
2020-06-01
Early SpaceX-branded fake YouTube channels steal approximately $150,000 via crypto giveaway scams timed to SpaceX events.
Popular Science2021-05-22
Scammers begin purchasing YouTube ad slots to promote the fake $SpaceX token on Uniswap, directing victims to use MetaMask. Campaign 'Alpha' begins.
Tenable Research2021-06-21
Tenable researchers document over $430,000 stolen across Alpha and Beta campaigns, with a third Gamma campaign ongoing. Projected total approaches $1 million.
Tenable Research / Threatpost2021-05-01
FTC reports that since early 2021 over 46,000 people lost more than $1 billion in crypto to scams, identifying Elon Musk impersonation as the top celebrity fraud vector.
Federal Trade Commission2023-11-20
Deepfake Musk video broadcast on a 180,000-subscriber YouTube channel during a Starship launch event steals $165,000 in BTC, ETH, DOGE, and USDT. Exposed by BitOK researchers.
The Crypto Times2024-03-14
Fake SpaceX YouTube channels with a combined audience of 2.3 million subscribers (one-third the size of SpaceX's real channel) run giveaway scams during a Starship launch. YouTube terminates four channels.
Popular Science2024-04-08
AI deepfake Musk livestream scams coincide with the solar eclipse, with one stream reaching over 164,000 concurrent viewers.
OECD.AI Incident Database2024-06-06
Over 35 YouTube channels simultaneously broadcast fake SpaceX Starship launch livestreams with AI-generated Musk voice. One channel runs three simultaneous streams with claimed 170,000 viewers. Avast Threat Labs reports the incident.
Crypto Times2024-10-13
Fake SpaceX channel becomes a top YouTube search result during SpaceX's Falcon 9 booster catch test, reaching 200,000–300,000 live viewers before removal. Victims directed to starshipstart[.]com.
Trend MicroDecision Log
- hash: 6acdzRN36s8qNmiajL8PVzH1JVZ26g5Wk3eSZpGe12fV
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain and source URLs are archived via the Internet Archive.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 5/31/2026, 5:52:00 PM
last updated: 5/31/2026, 5:52:42 PM
avoid.net — verified advice for a post-truth world