Pantera Denies Akio’s $5M Scam! 🚨

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Akio, the NFT project that’s about as trustworthy as a magician’s promise, claimed to have raised $5 million in a “seed round” led by Pantera Capital. Spoiler: They didn’t. It’s like saying your pet goldfish invented quantum physics. 🐠💥

A Funding Claim Unravels

Akio posted a fancy graphic on X (formerly Twitter) claiming Pantera, Nvidia, and a bunch of other companies (including a mysterious “Net Ease Global”) invested. It’s like a circus act-except the only thing being juggled is credibility. 🪀

Franklin Bi of Pantera Capital, ever the hero, immediately roared, “Pantera is not an investor in this!” Because nothing says “I’m a responsible investor” like publicly denying a scam. 🦁

Alert: Pantera is not an investor in @AkioWorldNFT.

We’ve confimed the same with several other investors mentioned in the tweet below.

I was blocked by the project & can’t respond directly to the original tweet or comments.

Good luck out there. Stay paranoid. 🫡

– Franklin Bi (@FranklinBi) September 25, 2025

Meanwhile, the other “investors” (Nvidia, Hasbro, AMD, etc.) are probably busy rewatching their own press releases. 🧠

Instead of owning up, Akio blocked Franklin Bi. Because nothing says “we’re a legitimate project” like ghosting your critics. 👻

Legit Information 

Akio’s antics are a masterclass in “fake it till you make it,” but let’s be real-legitimate funding rounds don’t start with a TikTok dance. They start with a business plan, a team of lawyers, and a healthy dose of humility. 🤡

Check Pantera’s website? No Akio. Check their social media? No Akio. It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack… except the haystack is a blockchain. 🧵

A Playbook for Investor Due Diligence

Step 1: Trust Official Channels. Because who else would you trust? The guy in the trench coat selling “exclusive” NFTs? 🕵️‍♂️
Step 2: Verify the Portfolio. If it’s not on the investor’s site, it’s probably a mirage. 🌫️
Step 3: Seek Cross-Confirmation. Because a single tweet is as reliable as a weather forecast in a hurricane. 🌪️

Why false claims threaten investor trust

False claims are the crypto world’s version of a con artist. They ruin reputations, waste time, and leave investors with a sinking feeling… like when you realize your “million-dollar idea” is just a PowerPoint slide. 💸

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2025-09-26 20:06