It’s said that you can’t keep a good man down; in this case, Billy McFarland isn’t exactly a good man. Billy McFarland, the organizer of the Fyre Festival, was sentenced to six years in prison for defrauding investors and attendees of the festival. McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in 2018 and was sentenced in October of that year. Now he is back with a new venture.
Here We Go Again
It’s called PYRT, and before we delve into what it is, doesn’t it sound exactly like the word “Pirate”? I mean, the early signs are there, right? He describes his new business as a “virtual immersive decentralized reality,” and if you are rolling your eyes, know it gets way worse at this point.
Yes, a tiny island will be filled with artists and a handful of content creators and entrepreneurs. Still, this time others can join digitally (for a fee, of course) to ‘not only watch what is happening live, but they can come together with their friends to effect and even own their real-world adventures” – whatever that means.
Tickets are in the $250 range, and he ‘promises’ to pay back $50 towards the debt left behind by the Fyre festival. The phrase “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” comes to mind.
Caveat Emptor
Bad actors can harm the reputation of web3 technologies and make it more difficult for legitimate projects to gain traction and adoption. Bad actors can undermine the trust and integrity of the web3 ecosystem, which is critical for its long-term success and sustainability.
Therefore, the web3 community must identify and prevent bad actors from operating in the ecosystem. This could include implementing stricter regulations, improving security measures, and increasing users’ awareness of the risks of bad actors.
You can’t keep a good man down, but what if this man is Billy McFarland? Surely the Web3 community deserves better, and in the wake of the FTX fallout, it should rid itself of the bad actors and concentrate on supporting those building with a conscience.
Rocco Strydom is the Founder of SGM Holdings – finance, energy and media and is the host of the
SGM podcast based in South Africa
