You could be forgiven for thinking the “ICE Agent” crypto game was just the latest in a long chain of ultra-patriotic internet oddities, minted in some suburban Texas basement, its code fueled by Red Bull and a surplus of flag-themed NFTs. The marketing all but shouts it: “America First!” Digital ICE raids! Web addresses flown over LA on the former President’s birthday! If you missed the airborne banner reading “HBD King Trump” as it circled the Los Angeles protests, maybe you blinked.

Yet, as The Standard reveals, the star-spangled branding falls flat on one crucial point: the whole thing is the handiwork of Jakub Rutkowski, a Polish developer working from a leafy suburb outside Warsaw. Suddenly, America First has a bit of an accent—and quite a bit of irony.

From Warsaw, With Love (and NFTs)

According to records reviewed by The Standard, Rutkowski’s signature is all over the operation, connecting digital breadcrumbs from Cypriot shell companies to his own social media profiles. These profiles, incidentally, feature less “raiding border jumpers” and more “summering in the Seychelles” and posing with a Patek Philippe watch worth more than most new cars.

Apparently, the game’s original registration on iceagent.us was masked behind fake contact info—think phone numbers like “+1.911911”—but a redirect site slipped through with Rutkowski’s actual details, as highlighted by The Standard. One can only wonder: in the mad dash to create the world’s first crypto-themed immigration game, who has time for WHOIS best practices?

When reached for comment, Rutkowski explained to the outlet that he developed the game for a client he assumes is American (judging by “his accent”) but wouldn’t say who. He seemed almost amused by the pursuit: “It’s kind of funny,” Rutkowski remarked, though he conceded, “If you’re an illegal immigrant, maybe it’s not so funny.” Sometimes the accidental comedy writes itself.

A Digital Detention Center—Just $20

Described by The Standard, the game’s mechanics are as straightforward as they are eyebrow-raising: users pay $20 to mint an “ICE Agent” NFT, buy $ICE cryptocurrency, then purchase “illegals”—NFT tokens which, once cryptographically “detained” for 21 days, generate $ICE. If more people buy in, the supply shrinks and, theoretically, the price goes up. Old crypto hands will recognize the formula—replace “illegals” with “crypto chickens,” and you’d have a barnyard staking app.

Rutkowski admitted to The Standard that controversy is the currency of crypto games, and launching alongside a spike in real-world immigration enforcement was no accident: “If you don’t have something unique or controversial, it’s hard to get attention.” Clearly, subtlety was not on the roadmap.

And if you thought they’d take the subtle route with advertising, consider the $1,200 spent (at minimum) to fly a banner over anti-ICE protests at three hundred dollars an hour, as the outlet documents through flight tracking and social media geolocation. Major US platforms wouldn’t take the ads, so the team settled for highly visible antagonism—perhaps hoping angry Google results would compensate for actual sign-ups.

Not Exactly a Family Project

Diving further into details cited by The Standard, one finds Rutkowski’s client apparently had no qualms about hiring foreign labor to push an “America First” message. The developer himself pushed back when asked about the irony, stating, “My client doesn’t have a problem with immigrants in their own countries.” Does that fall under “globalization as performance art,” or is it just another day on the internet?

Even those hired for the project were reportedly uneasy—Rutkowski said he had to reassure the website artist, whose initial hesitation about the subject matter was evident. Social media marketing was passed to yet another contractor. What’s the onboarding process for a project like this? Does HR hand you a pamphlet titled “Don’t Think Too Hard About It?”

Despite these efforts, the user numbers remain slim: as noted by The Standard, just 337 members in their Telegram group and 125 on Discord. For all the stunts, there’s little sign this is poised to become the next Bored Ape Yacht Club—unless there’s a surge of NFT collectors specifically interested in digital deportations.

Meme Coins, Moral Gymnastics, and a Side of Absurdity

It’s not entirely new territory—meme coins and “protest tokens” have long surfed on controversy and tragedy alike, something the outlet contextualizes within the larger crypto ecosystem. Yet few reach such a perfect storm of tone-deafness and global outsourcing as ICE Agent: designed overseas, promoted over LA, and championed by anonymous U.S. clients, all in the name of catching digital “illegals” for a speculative payday.

The provenance is far too on-the-nose: an “America First” game, spinning up drama using events thousands of miles away, only to have its origin story traced back to a Warsaw suburb, courtesy of a registration slipup and a trail of flashy vacation photos.

Is this the next frontier in cross-border gig economy work, or just a peculiar digital ouroboros—eating its own tail in a loop of irony? You have to wonder if there isn’t someone at a Warsaw coffee shop right now, quietly marveling at just how far and wide American branding can travel.

In any case, in a field already saturated with weirdness, ICE Agent has earned its star for intercontinental absurdity. Who knew the most “America First” crypto game of the year would come with complimentary frequent flyer miles?