Exclusive: CS co-creator Minh Le confirms $GOOSE crypto is real amid X hack concerns; already received "considerable" money

Earlier today, Minh "Gooseman" Le, one of the co-creators of the original Counter-Strike game, made a series of bizarre posts on X announcing the creation of a cryptocurrency/memecoin named $GOOSE that was allegedly created by fans of Counter-Strike as a way to thank him for creating CS.

The timing of the X post as well the nature of the promotion led many to speculate that Le had been hacked on the social media platform and that bad actors were using his account and reputation for an exit scam, more commonly known as a "rug pull" in the crypto and NFT space.

However, Dust2.us can confirm that Le's X posts are legitimate and that he tacitly supports the $GOOSE coin's existence, confirming his identity to Dust2.us' Jeffrey "Mnmzzz" Moore in a brief video call while explaining the rationale for allowing the coin's creation and accepting money from its creator.

In their call, Le explained that the "coin" was created suddenly after an X user named Momo reached out and told Le that he wanted to help financially support him by creating a "Gooseman-themed" cryptocurrency, feeling that Valve had unfairly compensated him for Counter-Strike.

Le agreed to Momo's proposition under the condition that he himself would not hold any of the coins and that it was clear he did not manage the crypto project. With that agreed to, Le made his first X post about the $GOOSE cryptocurrency:

Le says he is shocked that the coin has rapidly gained momentum and valuation, admitting to being a complete novice when it comes to cryptocurrency. Le believes that part of the reason the coin has succeeded in its first hours is due to people genuinely wanting to support the creator of Counter-Strike, claiming that many people did not know he was behind the game.

While many have raised concerns that Le will see no money from using his name and likeness to promote a "meme coin", Le told Dust2.us that he has already received a "considerable" amount of money from the creator. Le said that he hopes the money can hopefully support him financially as he develops his new game Alpha Response, admitting that he isn't in a position financially to turn down money from people wishing to support him and his work.

A key distinction in Le's mind as he told Dust2.us, is that he will allow its existence, however he will not actively promote the coin on his X account nor other avenues.

Le said that he thinks of crypto speculation as analogous to skins trading, stock trading, or other forms of speculation and that it isn't his responsibility to tell people how to use their money. He also is not concerned if other people make money from the $GOOSE coin, hoping that people who invest in it understand the risks.

With that said, concern is still high in the community over the potential implications of Le supporting a coin that could still turn out to a "rug pull" once its valuation starts to bottom out. As a number of pundits have said, what will happen to Le's reputation and legacy long-term should a significant number of people lose money, even if he does not overtly support the coin.

At the time of publication, it is clear that Le's X posts and active discussion of the coin on the Alpha Response Discord have had a significant effect on its valuation as its market cap sits at $477k at the time of publication.