When Logan Paul, one of the internet’s biggest celebrities, filed a defamation lawsuit against Stephen Findeisen last year, the lawsuit wasn’t just targeting an individual—it was challenging a new form of financial accountability.
Findeisen, known to millions as “Coffeezilla,” had become crypto’s most feared investigator, and Paul’s legal action only cemented his status as the industry’s de facto watchdog.
Findeisen now sits at the helm of a digital empire with 4.19 million YouTube subscribers and over 700,000 followers on X. These numbers aren’t just metrics—they represent a groundswell of support for financial transparency in an industry plagued by scams and fraud. His investigations have derailed multi-million dollar crypto schemes, forced celebrity influencers to issue refunds, and even contributed to the prosecution of former crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried.
From Snake Oil to Blockchain Fraud
Findeisen’s crusade against financial deception began not in the digital realm, but at home. Born on August 20, 1985, in Texas, he was pursuing a chemical engineering degree at Texas A&M University when his mother was diagnosed with cancer. While battling her illness, she was targeted by salespeople peddling unproven cures.
“She was sold a bunch of snake oil, and I think she believed all of it,” Findeisen told The New Yorker in a 2022 profile. This personal experience sparked what would become a lifelong mission against those who market false hope to vulnerable people.
After graduating, Findeisen sold houses for a local builder while creating YouTube content on the side. His early videos on his “Coffee Break” channel from 2017 to 2020 covered time-management tips and pop-science topics, but his viewership surged when he pivoted to exposing financial scams.
“When I discovered crypto for the first time, it was like, ‘Oh, that guy lost, like, five hundred thousand on Tuesday,'” Findeisen said, comparing the scale of crypto scams to traditional financial schemes. “Crypto scams are like discovering fentanyl when you’ve been used to Oxy. It’s a hundred times more powerful and way worse.”
The Digital Detective
What separates Findeisen from other commentary channels is his investigative approach. While many YouTubers offer opinions, Coffeezilla presents evidence.
His breakthrough investigation came in 2021 when he exposed the “Save the Kids” cryptocurrency project as a “pump-and-dump” scheme. The token was heavily promoted by members of FaZe Clan, a popular e-sports collective. Findeisen meticulously traced wallet transactions, interviewed whistleblowers, and analyzed leaked recordings to build his case.
The fallout was immediate. FaZe Clan terminated member Frazier Kay and suspended others. For the first time, a YouTube investigation had direct consequences for crypto influencers promoting questionable projects.
Tyler Chou, an attorney representing YouTube creators, described Findeisen’s work as a “David vs. Goliath situation” during the Logan Paul lawsuit saga. “Logan Paul has a deep war chest he can use against Coffeezilla right now, and if they go all the way through trial, there will be tons of legal fees,” Chou told the publisher press in 2023.
Despite legal threats, Findeisen’s subsequent investigations have only grown more ambitious. His three-part series on Paul’s CryptoZoo NFT project, which he labeled “the biggest scam,” reached millions of viewers and eventually led Paul to apologize publicly rather than pursue litigation.
“The war is not with Coffee. In fact, I’m grateful he brought this to light. I will be taking accountability,” Paul wrote in a Discord message later shared by Findeisen.
The Bankman-Fried Interviews
Perhaps Findeisen’s most consequential work came during the collapse of FTX, once the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange. In late 2022, he conducted a series of interviews with founder Sam Bankman-Fried that proved pivotal.
In what Findeisen calls the “smoking gun” interview, he pressed Bankman-Fried on whether FTX had violated its own terms of service by diverting customer funds to its sister company, Alameda Research. When Bankman-Fried admitted that FTX’s customer deposits were treated differently than outlined in the terms, Findeisen immediately recognized it as an admission of fraud.
The clip spread rapidly online in the days leading up to Bankman-Fried’s arrest on multiple charges of fraud and money laundering. Just weeks later, Bankman-Fried was in custody, facing charges that could result in decades of imprisonment.
Michael Lewis, author of a controversial book on Bankman-Fried titled “Going Infinite,” faced sharp criticism from Findeisen for what he characterized as a “full-out defense of SBF.”
“He spends more time questioning the intentions of the BANKRUPTCY LAWYER John Ray, than he does SBF. I’m speechless,” Findeisen posted on X after reading the book.
Beyond Crypto: The Rabbit Hole Deepens
Findeisen’s investigative scope has expanded beyond cryptocurrency. In May 2024, he turned his attention to Rabbit, a device marketed as an “AI assistant” that sold over 100,000 units at $300 each, generating $30 million in sales.
After thorough analysis, Findeisen claimed the device was “nothing more than ChatGPT with some hardcoded scripts” rather than the revolutionary AI it was advertised to be. The company had used the sales to raise an additional $65 million from investors.
“I think the best thing you could say at this point about Jesse and Rabbit is that they vastly over-promised and under-delivered, the worst you could say is (that) this is consumer fraud,” Findeisen concluded in his video on the topic.
The New Financial Journalism
Unlike traditional financial journalists who may lack technical understanding of blockchain technology, Findeisen combines technical knowledge with accessible presentation. He works with a graphic designer to create visualizations that explain complex crypto schemes to viewers with varying levels of expertise.
“You don’t need a subpoena—you can just be some random guy in Texas figuring it out,” Findeisen explained about tracing crypto transactions, highlighting how blockchain’s transparency paradoxically makes it an ideal hunting ground for investigations.
His approach bridges a critical gap between highly technical blockchain analysis and mainstream financial reporting. With major news outlets often struggling to explain crypto concepts to their audiences, Findeisen’s videos have become educational resources for journalists covering the beat.
The growth of his channel from 1 million to 4.19 million subscribers in just three years demonstrates the public’s hunger for this type of financial oversight. Each video routinely garners millions of views within days of posting.
The Future of Financial Accountability
The success of Coffeezilla points to an evolution in how financial accountability functions in the digital age. Traditional regulatory bodies like the SEC often move too slowly to prevent harm in fast-moving crypto markets. Findeisen’s investigations frequently identify problems months or years before official actions begin.
“I guess I always think of true crime as: the guy gets locked up at the end,” he told The New Yorker. “And a lot of my stories feel incomplete. Because the reporting happens, right? And then they just continue doing what they do.”
This gap between exposure and consequences highlights both the power and limitations of this new form of financial journalism. While Findeisen can expose fraud to millions, enforcement still requires action from traditional authorities.
As cryptocurrency and digital assets continue to integrate with mainstream finance, the role of independent investigators like Findeisen will likely expand. Their ability to rapidly identify and publicize fraudulent schemes provides an essential layer of protection for investors navigating these largely unregulated markets.
For many in the crypto space, Coffeezilla has become the watchdog they trust more than any regulatory body. In an industry built on the premise of decentralization, it seems fitting that accountability has also become decentralized, with millions of viewers acting as the jury for each new investigation that appears on their YouTube feed.
“I’ve always hated the fact that people in my life would get scammed by different get-rich-quick schemes,” Findeisen told Business Insider. As digital financial products continue to proliferate, his mission to protect everyday investors from sophisticated scams has never been more essential.
