On March 13, cybercriminals appeared to gain access to a prominent cryptocurrency news platform’s X account, using it to disseminate misleading information regarding Donald Trump’s TRUMP memecoin and a bogus BlackRock ETF filing for Hyperliquid.
The false posts had an immediate effect, causing TRUMP’s price to spike by 20% before it rapidly fell back down, while the fabricated ETF announcement resulted in a separate 6% price swing for Hyperliquid’s HYPE token.
A blockchain analytics firm found that a trader tried to take advantage of the turmoil by withdrawing 504,820 USDC from Binance to purchase TRUMP tokens. However, once the reality was revealed, the trader was forced to sell at a loss, incurring a $26,820 loss in USDC within minutes.
In the aftermath, the platform removed the unauthorized posts and urged its users to disregard any information that surfaced during the incident.
### X Account Breaches
This breach of the platform’s account is part of a troubling trend involving recent hacks targeting notable crypto accounts on X.
The platform noted that no third-party applications were linked to its compromised account, there were no API key leaks, and it was secured by YubiKey two-factor authentication. This led to suspicions of either an internal vulnerability or the involvement of a compromised X employee as the source of the breach.
According to the platform:
> “We are assuming a compromised X employee or something similar; all keys and sessions have been reset nevertheless.”
In light of this situation, a web3 security firm observed parallels with earlier attacks on Dogwifcoin, the Solana-based Jupiter Exchange, and the memecoin launchpad Pump.fun.
A blockchain investigator suggested that these hacks might be rooted in social engineering techniques targeting X employees, speculating that attackers could be maneuvering the social media platform’s staff using forged documents or taking advantage of weaknesses in the site’s internal security measures.
The rising occurrence of these attacks heightens concerns regarding the security of cryptocurrency accounts on X. Over time, hackers have consistently exploited high-profile platforms to spread false information and execute phishing schemes, leading to substantial losses for cryptocurrency users.