- Ben Armstrong, 41, who used online platform BitBoy, claimed to be worth $40 million during the cryptocurrency highs of 2021.
- The YouTuber has since lost his production company, and most of his friends and wife have filed for divorce
- The downfall began in August when his friends and business partners fired him from his company HIT Network
A cryptocurrency YouTuber who once claimed his business was worth $40 million during the 2021 cryptocurrency boom has seen his empire crumble and his wife leave him.
Ben Armstrong, 41, who used the online site BitBoy, has since lost his production company, and most of his friends and wife have filed for divorce.
His downfall came just six years after he entered the cryptocurrency world as a hobbyist, and quickly became a big name by posting YouTube videos where he shared tips with the rapidly expanding cryptocurrency community.
The downfall began in August when his friends and business partners fired him from his company HIT Network after he created a cryptocurrency named after him – BEN Coin.
Previously, the former graphic designer and car wash owner claimed to be worth eight figures, although that money is owned by an investment company established in his name.
He has since been accused of extortion, theft, sexual harassment and violence in the workplace, the New York Times reported.
After learning of his relationship with a four-times divorced woman, his wife filed for divorce and appointed a forensic accountant.
“Ben has lost track of the person he used to be,” TJ Shedd, his former business partner, who was part of his ouster and is suing him, said in a statement.
It caused serious damage to his professional and personal relationships.
Shedd sued Armstrong for “unlawfully directing and transferring up to $50,000 per month to Cassandra Wolfe, with whom he was having an affair.”
The lawsuit opened the floodgates, as Armstrong was now accused of steroid abuse and inappropriate violent behavior in the office, ranging from sexual harassment to “throwing bottles full of protein shakes” at employees.
Three male HIT Network employees also accused him of touching them sexually, according to police reports reviewed by The New York Times.
His wife, Bethany Armstrong, filed for divorce in October, just months after the couple posted a video explaining that they would work together through the crisis.
Bethenny can be seen looking supportive alongside her adorable rat husband as he talks about himself and his failures at length.
“Obviously a lot of people know at this point, and if you didn't you would know by now that I'm having an affair,” he said.
I've done it and I know I have a family brand…and it goes on for a while and you know the other person isn't a bad person. I want to say that I take full responsibility for all of this.
But Armstrong then showed no loyalty to the mother of his three children, saying: “I love her more than my wife” to his glamorous mistress.
“I don't want to be too rude, but we have a really great relationship.”
Wolfe herself had already been married and divorced four times, before meeting Armstrong at a cryptocurrency conference in 2022, where he was promoting his own cryptocurrency, BEN, which bears his name.
Armstrong was known for wearing a green Gucci suit and driving a Lamborghini, but he lost the sports car in a bizarre deed signing with a former fan and investor in his BEN cryptocurrency.
The deal was subject to a lawsuit in which Armstrong claimed he was being blackmailed.
The judge ruled in favor of the new owner, after Armstrong was unable to confirm whether payment for the car had been made from his personal funds or from a business account.
He shouted before leaving the court, saying: “The judge is corrupt, and there is no victory for me at all.”
Armstrong claimed in recent social media posts that he had become the victim of a “criminal conspiracy” and “terrorists” who had taken over his YouTube channel, which previously had more than a million subscribers. Just last year, Armstrong signed a $1 million-a-month contract with gambling company Stake, which allows users to bet cryptocurrencies in casino-style games.
Now he says, “I'm going through a midlife crisis, a spiritual crisis.”
