Features writer
Connor Sephton
Features writer
Connor Sephton
Share
Fact Checked by
Elena Bozhkova
Features Lead
Elena Bozhkova
There’s a new twist in the saga surrounding “Lord Miles” — the British YouTuber who mysteriously vanished during a 40-day fast in a hot desert.
As previously reported by Cryptonews, rumors had circulated that the 26-year-old had died during the challenge. It was claimed that he fell into a coma while being treated at a hospital in Saudi Arabia, with his body going into stock after glucose was administered intravenously.
All of this caused erratic fluctuations on the crypto betting site Polymarket, where users were placing wagers on whether he would successfully finish the fast.
Odds suddenly cratered from 68% to 18% — but there’s been a fair dose of skepticism over whether Lord Miles has actually died.
The content creator had been streaming from a tent throughout his challenge, with his YouTube page falling silent for the best part of two weeks. His X account has also been restricted, meaning his posts are only visible to followers.
But now, a screenshot is doing the rounds that appears to show a statement on his profile — and it suggests Lord Miles is still alive. It claims:
“Miles has been detained by Saudi intelligence on false charges from an American who has created several fake reports through a bribed, corrupt journalist in order to make money on Polymarket.”
In a rather surreal turn of events, it’s claimed that this journalist was “putting out fake news about Miles” — and allegedly “manipulated” police so he would be arrested on suspicion of potential ties to terrorist activity. The statement goes on to stress that Miles has no criminal record, or past terrorism convictions.
“The Saudi police obviously have taken this rather seriously. Some people have put Miles in danger and misfortune so they can make money off him failing his fast. He has also spent two weeks without seeing sunlight and remains in custody.”
Cryptonews is unable to verify the accuracy of this statement — and indeed, you could argue it leaves us with more questions than answers.
As things stand, the odds on Polymarket have now slumped even further — and at the time of writing, there’s just a 6% chance that Lord Miles will successfully complete the fast as planned. Trading volumes have now surged to $12.7 million, a $4 million rise compared with when we first brought you this story.
Allegations of market manipulation and insider trading continue to swirl, with Polymarket now offering an update. It says the market will remain open until 11.59pm on Sept. 30 — or until there is confirmation that Lord Miles has completed the fast, been unsuccessful, or abandoned the challenge.
“If Lord Miles does not post footage of the missing stream time by the resolution date, this market will resolve to ‘No,’ unless the authenticity of the fast is otherwise confirmed by credible evidence. Claims made by Miles will not alone qualify in the absence of other credible evidence.”
There’s no shortage of anger among Polymarket users, with some accusing the site of changing the rules at the last minute — and claiming it is a scam.
In a case of unfortunate timing, all of this came on the day Polymarket’s CEO Shayne Coplan announced on X that he was speaking at a roundtable hosted by the SEC and the CFTC. One disgruntled customer replied by saying:
“You allowed market manipulation, insider trading, and fraud in the Lord Miles 40-day fast challenge market. Polymarket has knowingly defrauded customers and has not a single thing to remedy it. Polymarket has no place in the USA.”
Polymarket had initially posted about Lord Miles’ statement on X, but later deleted it, in a sign the company is now concerned of getting embroiled in the backlash.
There has been no confirmation from police in Saudi Arabia that the YouTuber is in their custody, let alone whether he’s actually broken the rules of the fast. “Monarch,” the founder of the betting platform Duel who sponsored the challenge, also hasn’t posted any updates on X — despite being the person who originally claimed that Lord Miles had died earlier this month.
Put another way, something stinks here. The truth will emerge in the coming days — and whatever happens, reputations will be damaged, and a large number of people are set to lose substantial amounts of money.
Discover more from Earlybirds Invest
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
