Hacker Exploits 50 Cent’s Twitter Account to Promote Solana Meme Coin – Here’s What Occurred
Famous rapper Curtis Jackson, also known as 50 Cent, recently fell victim to a hacking incident in which his X account was utilized to endorse a deceptive meme coin based on the Solana blockchain.
Taking advantage of the current trend of celebrities launching their own meme coins, the hacker tricked many into believing that 50 Cent was genuinely supporting a new Solana token called GUNIT, which was launched via Pump.fun.
The promotional tweets were skillfully crafted, making references to the rapper’s cognac brand and mentioning other celebrity-related crypto projects. For instance, one tweet mentioned Martin Shkreli’s alleged creation of an official Donald Trump Solana token, while another highlighted influencer Andrew Tate’s promotion of the DADDY coin. There was even a meme featuring 50 Cent at the center, alluding to the Solana ecosystem.
Initially, some users were suspicious of the posts, while others were unsure if they were genuine endorsements. Nevertheless, millions of dollars were quickly invested in GUNIT, causing its trading volume to reach $18.6 million. The token’s value surged by an astonishing 8,000% before swiftly crashing as liquidity vanished.
This incident shed light on the recent surge of celebrity meme coins created through platforms like Pump.fun, where the endorsement of a well-known personality leads to a significant increase in value. Tokens like DADDY, promoted by Andrew Tate, and MOTHER, supported by Iggy Azalea, have experienced substantial market capitalization growth solely due to celebrity endorsements.
However, the GUNIT scheme quickly unraveled. 50 Cent took to his Instagram account to confirm that both his X account and website had been hacked, emphasizing that the posts were not authentic. To prevent further damage, he locked his account, rendering all tweets inaccessible.
As the truth emerged, GUNIT’s value continued to decline, but it still maintains a market capitalization of approximately $70,000, with new purchases still being made.
In his Instagram update, 50 Cent claimed that the hacker made off with $300 million. However, multiple data sources revealed that GUNIT’s market capitalization during its brief surge was only a fraction of that amount. This highlights the disparity between a token’s market cap and the actual liquidity accessible to its creator.
The incident involving 50 Cent is not an isolated case in the ongoing frenzy of celebrity meme coins. Just recently, wrestler Hulk Hogan experienced a similar hack, where his Twitter account was used to promote a HULK token that generated $82 million in trading volume within a day.
Cryptocurrency scams have thrived on X, with analysts attributing a significant portion of all crypto scams to scammers on the platform. Scam Sniffer, a web3 anti-scam company present on X, conducted an analysis revealing that nearly $50 million is lost each month due to account impersonation on X.com.
While these problems existed prior to Elon Musk’s involvement in the platform, the confusion surrounding the new owner’s controversial paid verification service may contribute to the ongoing vulnerability of the general public to impersonation scams. The service allows anyone with a smartphone to register and receive verification, potentially adding to the challenges faced in distinguishing genuine accounts from fraudulent ones.
Recently, Binance co-founder Yi He expressed concerns about the proliferation of cryptocurrency scams on X, raising questions about whether Musk would take action to address the issue.
