I tried the 'world's first crypto-backed energy drink,' and it tastes like it was secreted from the blockchain

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It's no secret that I depend on energy drinks and candy bars to get me through the workday, so I'm always willing to gulp down a new caffeine elixir given a chance. When I heard about a drink backed by crypto, I knew I needed to try it and see if I could taste the future. It turns out, much like a lot of blockchain-related ventures, the future tastes like a sour berry.

The energy drink in question is Cryptoblast, available in the FOMO Fuel flavor, formally known as Berry FOMO. As a professional taste tester of novelty consumables like gamer gum and energy powders, I felt equipped to give it a verdict. It ain't great.

Upon sipping the beverage (and spilling a bunch of it in the video studio), the inside of my mouth was clobbered with an aggressive flavor I can best describe as "sort-of berry." It was tarter than the Red Bull I drank this morning and left an awful aftertaste that sat with me most of the afternoon despite my best efforts to wash down with about two liters of water.

On the plus side, CryptoBlast contains fewer calories and less sugar than a Red Bull, with nearly double the sodium and cost. Great! I spent around $20 for a case of three drinks, which amounts to just over $6 per can, which is too much for an energy drink, no matter the future earning potential.

This leads to Cryptoblast's whole thing: it's backed by its own cryptocurrency, $CBT. The company claims to return 30% of its net profits to its token. So if the company does well and sells tons of cans, the value of the tokens should increase, in theory. Passive income, baby!

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CryptoBlast's motto is "Taste. Hold. Earn," but considering that CBT tokens are currently valued at $0.00000211, if you buy now, you'll be holding for quite a while before you can see any worthwhile return on your investment. (Assuming any of this actually happens.)

On top of the token, anyone who buys a case will receive an NFT. Currently, the company is giving away what it calls $50K worth of NFTs and a chance for one person to win 1% of the company. I tracked down a collection of CryptoBlast NFTs on OpenSea, but I haven't seen anything being bought or sold, so I couldn't tell what they go for.

It's interesting to see the performance of an actual physical product like an energy drink tied to the success or failure of a cryptocurrency, but not interesting enough to make the drink taste good, and my confidence in blockchain projects is not exactly sky-high.

It's probably not a good sign that the official CryptoBlast website is riddled with dead-end links, such as its FAQ and About CBT pages. While I'm not qualified to give financial advice, these seem like investment red flags to me.

CryptoBlast is available on Amazon at $18.95 for a 3-pack. You could also save your money and drink more water.

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Jorge is a hardware writer from the enchanted lands of New Jersey. When he's not filling the office with the smell of Pop-Tarts, he's reviewing all sorts of gaming hardware, from laptops with the latest mobile GPUs to gaming chairs with built-in back massagers. He's been covering games and tech for over ten years and has written for Dualshockers, WCCFtech, Tom's Guide, and a bunch of other places on the world wide web.