American actress Sydney Sweeney’s X account was recently compromised, leading to unauthorized posts promoting a Solana-based cryptocurrency named SWEENEY. The compromised posts announced the token’s launch, generating more than $10 million in trading volume within two hours on July 2.
This rapid activity underscores the immediate impact of the hack. However, the token’s value plummeted nearly 90% shortly after, starting at 6:15 pm UTC, reflecting the volatile nature of these hastily promoted assets.
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Did someone hack @sydney_sweeney? Post deleted. A couple of coins launched on SOL recently pic.twitter.com/E2CKndsQFg
— Ioachim Viju ⚛️ BlockHunters (@IoachimViju) July 2, 2024
Celebrity Crypto Scams Surge: A Look at Recent Hacks
The incident involved a pump-and-dump scheme artificially inflating the price of a cryptocurrency. Subsequently, the asset is sold at its peak for profit. Despite a partial recovery, according to DEX Screener data, SWEENEY’s market cap has significantly dropped from $3.85 million at its peak to $1.2 million.
The hack of Sweeney’s account is not an isolated incident. Celebrities such as rapper “Rich the Kid,” Nigerian singer David Adedeji Adeleke Oon, and boxer Floyd Mayweather have hijacked their X accounts to promote various cryptocurrency tokens. This trend highlights the vulnerability of high-profile social media accounts to such exploits. Media personality Caitlyn Jenner and rapper Iggy Azalea have been involved with Solana-based memecoins, collaborating initially with memecoin partner Sahil Arora.
MAJOR: 🚨 🚨 🚨
That ad for a third party token was taken down!
As I have said from the beginning the only focus I have is $Jenner and the ad I posted confused too many people, and was not worth it.
Like I had said time and time again I’m fully focused on my token $Jenner— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) May 27, 2024
Azalea’s MOTHER token, despite the surrounding risks, reached a market cap of $148.9 million at its peak. However, it has since lost nearly $100 million in value, showcasing the dramatic fluctuations associated with these celebrity-endorsed project
Celebrity Crypto Accounts Targeted by Scammers
The administrator of a Telegram channel associated with the SWEENEY token admitted responsibility for the hack, indicating a deliberate breach. This group also claimed to be behind the compromised accounts of other celebrities, including 50 Cent and Hulk Hogan, to promote similar fraudulent schemes.
The hackers announced their intentions to target another high-profile celebrity and urged potential investors to participate in a presale. They were asked to send 5 SOL (around $740) to an anonymous Solana wallet. The recurring hacks of celebrity accounts for cryptocurrency promotions suggest a strategy to leverage their fame for financial profit. This approach exploits their influence to generate monetary gains swiftly. Often, this exploitation results in losses for unsuspecting followers.
Vitalik Critiques Celebrity Crypto Trends
Vitalik Buterin recently voiced concerns over the surge in celebrity-endorsed cryptocurrencies. On his X social media page, he noted that many of these tokens fail to contribute to significant social causes or benefit the public good.
Buterin argues that the financial aspects of these tokens should support critical social endeavors. He believes they should enhance healthcare, support open-source software, or promote the arts.
As celebrity-endorsed cryptocurrencies become more popular, the risk of scams also increases. This trend underscores the importance for investors to be more vigilant. The quick growth of cryptocurrencies and celebrity involvement can often lead to fraudulent schemes. Highlighting the importance of diligence and skepticism in digital asset investments.
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