American actress Sydney Sweeney’s X account was hacked to promote the SWEENEY crypto token, which appears to be part of a pump-and-dump scam.
One of the now-deleted posts from Sweeney’s account read, “Well I think it’s time. $sweeney is now live 100mc incoming.”
The token, built on the Solana blockchain, saw its trading volume surge to over $10 million within two hours of its launch on July 2.
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Despite the initial hype, SWEENEY’s price plummeted by approximately 90% in just over an hour after it peaked at 6:15 PM UTC. Its market cap now stands at less than $600,000, a sharp decline from its peak of $3.85 million.
A Telegram channel associated with the token, which was promoted on Sweeney’s X account, had an administrator who claimed responsibility for the hack.
In messages that have since been deleted, they also admitted involvement in recent hacks of rapper 50 Cent and former wrestler Hulk Hogan’s X accounts, which were similarly used to promote fraudulent tokens. Furthermore, they hinted at targeting another celebrity without providing specific details.
The hack is part of a trend involving celebrities in the promotion of crypto tokens. Media figures like Caitlyn Jenner and rappers Iggy Azalea and Rich the Kid have launched Solana-based memecoins with the assistance of memecoin collaborator Sahil Arora.
Among these, Azalea’s token, MOTHER, performed the best, reaching a peak market cap of $148.9 million. However, it has since dropped by nearly $100 million.
The pattern of hacking social media accounts to push questionable crypto projects remains a troubling trend in crypto.
Having completed a Master’s degree in Economics, Politics, and Cultures of the East Asia region, Aaron has written scientific papers analyzing the differences between Western and Collective forms of capitalism in the post-World War II era.With close to a decade of experience in the FinTech industry, Aaron understands all of the biggest issues and struggles that crypto enthusiasts face. He’s a passionate analyst who is concerned with data-driven and fact-based content, as well as that which speaks to both Web3 natives and industry newcomers.Aaron is the go-to person for everything and anything related to digital currencies. With a huge passion for blockchain & Web3 education, Aaron strives to transform the space as we know it, and make it more approachable to complete beginners.Aaron has been quoted by multiple established outlets, and is a published author himself. Even during his free time, he enjoys researching the market trends, and looking for the next supernova.
