Crypto Ads Inked: Website Pays for Tattoos to Promote Coins

WHO:

CNN - A man named Arivu received a tattoo in exchange for cryptocurrency.

CNN - Ayush, a 21-year-old from Florida, offered Arivu $3,000 in cryptocurrency for the tattoo.

CNN - Jordan, a 27-year-old artist in Toronto, got a tattoo promoting a cryptocurrency casino for about $3,000.

CNN - Vetle Lunde is the head of research at the cryptocurrency analysis firm K33.

CNN - Nicholas Vrousalis is a philosophy professor at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

CNN - William Cavanaugh is a theologian and professor of Catholic studies at DePaul University in Chicago.

CNN - New York Governor Kathy Hochul criticized the platform Pump.fun.

WHAT:

CNN - Arivu received a tattoo of the misspelled word "boutywork" across his forehead.

CNN - Ayush offered Arivu $3,000 in cryptocurrency for the tattoo.

CNN - Pump.fun announced a new feature called Pump.fun GO, allowing users to offer public bounties for various tasks.

CNN - Some bounties have included tasks like going to McDonald's for $300 and bailing someone out of jail for $1,000.

CNN - A user offered 10,000 Solana, valued at about $690,000, for someone to film their suicide.

CNN - The typo in the tattoo led to the creation of a new cryptocurrency called "Boutywork," which raised $30,000 for Arivu.

WHERE:

CNN - The tattoo was done at a beachside tattoo stand in Chennai, India.

CNN - Jordan got his tattoo in Toronto, Canada.

CNN - The bail for the homeless man was posted in Lincoln, Nebraska.

WHEN:

CNN - The tattooing event involving Arivu occurred after Ayush posted the offer on Pump.fun.

CNN - The memecoin craze occurred in 2024.

CNN - Pump.fun's livestream feature was relaunched last year with improved moderation.

WHY:

CNN - Ayush stated that he offered the bounty to promote the memecoin "bountywork."

CNN - Jordan felt financially pressured to accept the tattoo offer due to his struggles.

HOW:

CNN - Arivu provided video evidence of the tattoo process to fulfill the bounty requirements.

CNN - Pump.fun allows users to create and complete bounties for various tasks, leveraging cryptocurrency payments.

(UPDATED June 12, 2026 23:27 UTC)

In a unique exchange, a man named Arivu received a tattoo of the misspelled word "boutywork" across his forehead in Chennai, India, after Ayush, a 21-year-old from Florida, offered him $3,000 in cryptocurrency for the artwork. This incident has sparked the creation of a new cryptocurrency called "Boutywork," which has already raised $30,000 for Arivu, while Pump.fun has introduced a feature allowing users to offer public bounties for various tasks, including a controversial $690,000 offer for filming a suicide. Meanwhile, Jordan, a 27-year-old artist in Toronto, also got a tattoo promoting a cryptocurrency casino for about $3,000, reflecting the growing intersection of art and cryptocurrency in today's digital economy.