1/2
This is my (crazy!) list of high-profile X accounts that were compromised and then used to promote memecoins, fraudulent tokens or related crypto scams.
In the second post, I explain how compromises like these can happen.
The list covers roughly mid-2023 to July 2026 and focuses mainly on accounts with hundreds of thousands or even tens of millions of followers.
It is far from exhaustive.
➡️ 2024
- GCR / Gigantic Rebirth (@GCRClassic): May 26, 2024. Used to promote ORDI and Luna 2.0, reportedly connected to operations involving the $CAT memecoin team. More than 250,000 followers.
- Rich The Kid: May 2024. Used to promote $RICH, a Solana memecoin launched in the typical https://t.co/gKLwp9DDzh style.
- Caitlyn Jenner: May 2024. Used to promote $JENNER.
- Hulk Hogan: June 2024. Used to promote $HULK, also known as the Hulkamania token.
- Metallica: June 26, 2024. The band’s official account promoted $METAL on Solana using false claims involving Ticketmaster and MoonPay.
- 50 Cent: Around July 2024. His account was compromised and used to promote a scam token during the same wave of celebrity account takeovers.
- Doja Cat: July 8, 2024. Her account promoted $DOJA on Solana to 5.6 million followers. The token briefly reached a market cap of approximately $1.65 million before collapsing.
- Sydney Sweeney: July 2, 2024. Her account promoted $SWEENEY and had reportedly been involved in an earlier incident involving $MILK.
- Usher: Around September 2024. His account promoted $USHER. Investigators connected the incident to a broader series of celebrity account compromises.
- Wiz Khalifa: November 3, 2024. His account promoted $WIZ or $WIZZLE to 35.7 million followers. The token briefly reached a market cap of approximately $3.4 million.
- Drake: December 14, 2024. His account promoted $ANITA, referencing his “Anita Max Wynn” alter ego and falsely claiming a partnership with Stake. The account had approximately 39 million followers. The token generated significant trading volume before dumping.
- Multiple crypto-focused accounts: Kick, Cursor, The Arena, Brett and Alex Blania. The accounts were used to promote fraudulent memecoins, with one attacker making approximately $500,000.
➡️ 2025
- Nasdaq: January 22, 2025. Nasdaq’s official account promoted $STONKS. The token reportedly reached a market cap of approximately $123 million before crashing.
- Dean Norris: January 2025. The Breaking Bad actor’s account promoted tokens using names such as $DEAN and $SCHRADER.
- Joel Khalili / WIRED-related account: Early 2025. The compromised account was used to promote a fraudulent memecoin using WIRED branding.
- Issa Rae: Late January or early February 2025. Her account was taken over and used in a crypto scam involving malicious links. She later warned followers through Instagram.
- Nick Robinson: February 2025. The BBC journalist’s account promoted the Solana token $TODAY.
- Pumpfun: February 2025. The platform’s official account promoted a fake “official” $PUMP governance token and additional fraudulent contract addresses.
- McDonald’s-related and other accounts: generated approximately $3.5 million.
➡️ 2026
- Roaring Kitty / Keith Gill: Around May 2026. His account promoted Red Kitten Crew, or $RKC. The token briefly reached a market cap of approximately $12 million before collapsing.
- SpaceX and Starlink: July 12, 2026. Both official accounts were compromised and used to promote $SCATMAN. The attacker made approximately $135,000 from the resulting pump and dump.
- Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood (@vladtenev): July 23, 2026. His account promoted $VLAD, also called “Vladhood”, as the supposed official mascot of Robinhood Chain and included a fraudulent contract address. Robinhood confirmed that the account had been compromised, and the post was removed.
The playbook is nearly always identical.
A trusted account suddenly publishes a contract address, claims that a token is official or backed by a major partnership, and directs millions of followers towards a freshly created market.
The price rises, insiders or attackers sell into the volume, and the token collapses.
A blue checkmark, a famous name and millions of followers do not make a contract address legitimate.
Any unexpected token promotion from a major account should be treated as hostile until it has been independently confirmed through multiple official channels.