On-chain Sleuth Accuses Conor McGregor of Selling Scamming NFTs Amid Khabib Papakha Drop
On-chain investigator ZachXBT and Conor McGregor publicly accused each other of questionable conduct around celebrity NFT drops after Khabib Nurmagomedov’s “Papakha” collection sold out fast. Khabib’s Papakha NFTs—digital versions of the Dagestani papakha hat— reportedly sold 29,000 units in about 25 hours and generated millions; promotional posts were later deleted, prompting McGregor to allege the drop exploited Khabib’s late father’s name and Dagestani culture to mislead buyers. Khabib’s team defended the project as legitimate “exclusive digital gifts with real-time value.” Separately, ZachXBT accused McGregor of similar behavior for promoting and quickly selling tokens/NFTs then removing promotional material, pointing to McGregor’s prior 2022 “McGregor Realm” involvement. The exchanges renew a public rivalry and underscore broader risks in celebrity-backed NFT launches: limited post-sale transparency, reputational damage, and potential regulatory scrutiny. For traders: expect short-term volatility in related NFT marketplaces and any associated tokens, heightened due diligence on celebrity drops, potential liquidity shifts if community trust erodes, and increased probability of regulatory inquiries that could affect market access or listings.
Bearish
The dispute and on-chain accusations increase reputational risk around the Papakha NFT drop and any crypto assets tied to the fighters. Immediate effects likely include decreased buyer confidence, short-term volatility and potential sell pressure in related NFT marketplaces or tokens as users reassess value and liquidity. Deletions of promotional material and public allegations invite scrutiny and could trigger platform delistings or secondary-market cooling. Over the medium term, if trust is not restored and regulators take interest, liquidity and demand could remain suppressed; however, purely speculative short squeezes are possible. Overall, the net price impact on the mentioned NFT-related assets is likely negative until transparency or remediation measures are introduced.