Court Orders BitBoy (Ben Armstrong) to Pay $2.8M to Kevin O’Leary for Defamation

A U.S. federal court entered a $2.8 million default judgment against crypto influencer Ben Armstrong (formerly “BitBoy”) after he failed to respond to a defamation suit brought by investor and TV personality Kevin O’Leary. Judge Beth Bloom of the Southern District of Florida awarded about $78,000 for reputational harm, $750,000 for emotional distress and $2 million in punitive damages. The suit stems from March 2025 posts on X in which Armstrong accused O’Leary and his wife of murder in a 2019 Ontario boating collision, published O’Leary’s private phone number and urged followers to harass him. O’Leary was a passenger and was never charged; his wife was later acquitted. Armstrong’s January 2026 motion to vacate the default judgment—citing incarceration and mental-health issues including bipolar disorder—was denied because he had been properly served and delayed nearly a year before acting. The ruling compounds Armstrong’s broader legal and reputational troubles since 2023, including arrests, removal from the BitBoy Crypto brand and controversies over substance abuse and paid promotions. For crypto traders: while the case does not concern any token directly, it highlights legal and reputational risks tied to high-profile influencers. Such rulings can redirect social-media attention, shift sentiment, and cause short-term liquidity and narrative volatility for tokens linked to the influencer or promoted projects. Primary keywords: defamation, Ben Armstrong, Kevin O’Leary, crypto influencer, punitive damages.