Crypto Influencer's DJ 'Marshmello' Stunt Went Horribly Wrong—Or Did It?

During the NFT NYC conference last week, a Tesla Cybertruck pulled into Times Square—and what appeared to be famed DJ Marshmello, flanked by a crypto influencer and a notable NFT project founder, hopped in the back of the angular ride and started blaring tunes to the rapidly forming crowd.

But it wasn’t actually Marshmello—and now the masked DJ has tweeted a threat of legal action against content creator Jake “SolJakey” Hillhouse and his pals for allegedly orchestrating the stunt to pump a meme coin. Will he follow through?

The crypto community's response to the revelation that it wasn't really Marshmello was swift, with some expressing outrage and disappointment over the deceptive practices, while others found the whole thing hilarious.

For a while, many Crypto Twitter users truly believed that the man wearing the helmet was the famous DJ in question—and that he was a fan of MOG, the meme coin featured on the fake DJ's sweater. However, the scheme quickly unraveled when the real Marshmello tweeted that he was in Chicago and responded with a series of tweets about the stunt.

“Guys this is not me lmao cmonnnn man,” he tweeted. “That’s not Marshmello, that’s a chunky old guy trying to scam people to think his fake crypto project is worth something.”

Marshmello even threatened legal action by saying, “Lawyers are already on it.” Decrypt reached out to Marshmello’s representatives for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.

Despite Marshmello’s claims and what many crypto observers believe, SolJakey tells Decrypt that the Times Square activation wasn’t designed to promote the meme coin—he claimed that was never the goal.

He shared a full behind-the-scenes video of the stunt via Twitter on Tuesday. We see them planning the stunt, renting speakers and scrambling to find a replacement Cybertruck when the initial rental fell through, and then plotting out the show—which was quickly shut down by police.

SolJakey revealed that about two weeks before NFT NYC, he and his friends had pulled off a similar stunt in Los Angeles and wanted to replicate its viral success. That stunt was unrelated to NFTs and crypto. 

"We created a pool in the back of a Tesla Cybertruck in Beverly Hills to catch Elon Musk's eye," he explained. "Elon actually responded, and we made it onto Fox News. When you’re using a Cybertruck, you get more eyes than a Lamborgini.” 

“We came up with an idea to do a DJ booth on the bed of the truck. We had a speaker rented and props rented,” SolJakey said. “Then we thought, ‘You know what would be funny? If someone wore a Marshmello helmet.’”

SolJakey added that his DJ friend was supposed to wear the helmet, but had to cancel at the last minute—so another friend who goes by OG stepped in. The influencer claims that the stand-in DJ just happened to be wearing a sweatshirt featuring the familiar shades-wearing logo of Ethereum meme coin Mog Coin.

OG claimed much the same in a tweet Tuesday, writing that "Anybody who thinks wearing the Joycat sweater was pre-planned is overestimating my foresight."

“The reason people ran with the Mog Coin narrative was because he was wearing his Mog sweater,” SolJakey added. “The community kind of ran with it. There was never any intention to pump a coin. We just wanted to do a stunt to get Elon’s attention.”

Also pictured in the video was Rohun “Frank” Vora, creator of the DeGods and y00ts NFT projects. He’s joked that it was an impersonator amid the Marshmello fallout, but it was actually him in the footage.

“He came into the mix and we asked him to just hop on the Cybertruck,” SolJakey said. “It added that boost for the virality because he’s controversial. He said it wasn’t him as a joke.”

Frank had previously tweeted about Mog Coin, however, including "onboarding" social media personality and boxer Bryce Hall onto the coin. Appearing to bring Marshmello into the fold too could have been seen as a swing of momentum for the token.

The attempt to capitalize on Marshmello's fame without his consent or involvement draws attention to broader issues of trust, authenticity, and blurred ethical lines in the crypto world. With the space already battling skepticism due to its association with speculative trading, scams, and regulatory scrutiny, such tactics can undermine the legitimacy of the crypto industry.

Even if the move wasn’t intended to pump a meme coin, as SolJakey claims, that’s been one of the biggest takeaways from the crypto community. He apologized for bringing negative sentiment to crypto and the MOG team, but isn't sorry for using the helmet for the stunt.

“Whatever anyone wants to say,” SolJakey said, “[Marshmello’s] IP is already available and he already sells the mask.”

And as for the DJ’s legal threat? Nothing has come of it—not yet, at least. SolJakey said that he has yet to receive any communication from Marshmello’s team or legal representatives.

Edited by Andrew Hayward