BTCs, a well-known Old School Runescape player and streamer, is facing a permanent ban from the game due to allegations of real-world trading, which essentially means trading in-game items for real money, a practice against the game’s rules. This is a significant ban, as BTCs is recognized as the wealthiest player in the game, holding over one trillion gold. The estimated real-world value of this amount of gold on unofficial gold-selling websites exceeds $160,000.
In response, BTCs firmly denied any wrongdoing and uploaded a video on October 7 to address the situation. He claimed that his journey to reach one trillion gold had been closely monitored by moderators and did not result in any bans until now. He emphasized that he had not engaged in any real-world trading while accumulating this gold. He also mentioned that an earlier ban was successfully appealed, but this time, the situation appears more challenging.
In a message shared by BTCs in his video, Ayiza, the lead community manager for Old School Runescape, conveyed that the evidence had been rigorously reviewed by their anti-cheating team, and the ban would not be reversed. Ayiza also stated that there were clear instances of real-world trading taking place on their end, and the decision was not made hastily.
BTCs suggested that the real-world trading allegations may have stemmed from one of his in-game gold giveaways, a practice he conducts regularly, being cautious to avoid involvement in real-world trading issues. Additionally, three other player accounts were banned because they were used to store some of BTCs’ vast amount of gold.
It’s worth noting that BTCs has faced prior allegations from other Old School Runescape players that his gold giveaways may not be entirely fair, with claims that supposed random winners are secretly paying for the gold. There were also complaints about the sale of ranks in BTCs’ gambling clan through Discord. While there isn’t concrete public evidence to substantiate these claims, a portion of the Old School Runescape community on Reddit seems skeptical of BTCs’ defense and was not surprised by the ban.
Similar to a recent case involving another player, Darth Microtransaction, some Redditors are expressing concerns about what they see as preferential treatment from the Jagex moderation team. BTCs had an extensive private conversation with the team immediately after the ban, which is not typical for most players. However, unlike Darth Microtransaction, who acknowledged account security lapses and eventually had his account restored, BTCs is critical of Jagex’s anti-cheat team, referring to them as “dumb” and “corrupt.” Whether or not he is innocent, his choice of words may not be in his favor in this situation.