About a month ago, a new Twitter profile was created under the name Cozomo de Medici, an apparent reference to Cosimo de ‘Medici, the Renaissance patriarch of the dynastic Italian banking family. Like its namesake, the Twitter user introduced himself as a patron of the arts, but rather than traffic Donatellos their passion was NFTs.

Almost overnight, Cozomo established himself as a real player in the market, amassing a collection of CryptoPunks, Art Blocks and other NFTs with a total estimated value of over $ 17 million. Twitter admirers also came: Thousands of people followed the account, where they found updates on new acquisitions studded with nuggets of investment advice, such as: “For there is a strange cultural “ponzi-nomy” at the NFTs, [where] just like contemporary art, no one wants to sell for less than the previous high price.

The myth grew, and quickly, as others online questioned Cozomo’s true identity. Surely he was a remarkable person, wasn’t he?

The speculators quickly got their answer. On September 20, Cozomo announced a contest to reveal who was behind the account. A celebrity, the anonymous character explained, would publicly claim Cozomo’s name on Twitter, and the first person to spot the tweet would receive 1 ETH, worth around $ 3,000.

“I am @CozomoMedici», Rapper Snoop Dogg tweeted later today, putting an end to the mystery and sending the crypto-community dizzy.

In a way, that made sense: the seemingly endless supply of cash, the Medici bit, the odd courteous air of the tweets. Snoop – given name Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. – is predictable, unpredictable, and well-loved. He’s also proven to be an avid investor, supporting tech companies, plant-based food companies, and cannabis startups through his venture capital firm. Casa Verde.

But again, maybe it does too much a lot of sense – elaborate troll work neatly wrapped up in a little Twitter flimflam?

At least that’s the theory some online are now pursuing. VICE recently broke all the holes in Snoop’s story, comparing the geotags of the rapper’s social media photos to those of Cozomo, who seems to spend a lot of time in Italy. The influencer NFT also once tweeted a photo of himself with fellow collector Jason Derulo on the shores of Lake Como. Both of their faces were covered in avatars, but it’s clear which one was Derulo and which wasn’t, and which one wasn’t was… well, it wasn’t Snoop.

DO-Double G or not, this modern day Medici sits on an impressive treasure trove of cryptographic artwork. In addition to Punks and Art Blocks, they have a Cai Guo-Qiang NFT and recently acquired a XCOPY artist character piece for 1,300 ETH, or roughly $ 3.9 million, which should ensure the continued attention of the fickle art world.

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