The launch of Memecoins in Solana was affected by an attack on the X account of Pump.fun, which was used to promote false cryptocurrencies. An attacker took control of the Pump.fun X account to promote fraudulent tokens. There’s a connection between this hacking and previous attacks on other crypto accounts in X. In recent months, attacks on verified accounts have increased to promote crypto scams.
The memecoins industry in Solana has become an attractive target for scammers, and taking control of accounts of organizations and famous individuals on social networks to promote fraudulent schemes is part of the tools used by these bad actors. This Wednesday, the memecoins launch platform based on Solana, Pump.fun, suffered the hacking of its account in X, which resulted in the promotion of multiple tokens for scams.
As reports on the case indicate, the attacker initially announced an alleged token of false governance along with a smart contract address, claiming it was a reward for the first users of the platform, known in crypto jargon as "Og Degens." Then, in an ironic turn, the hacker promoted memecoins that made direct reference to the incident, using names such as "Hackeddotfun" and "Hacked." The attack has generated concern in the crypto community, since it demonstrates the growing sophistication of cybercriminals in compromising verified accounts in social networks such as X to disseminate false information and manipulate markets.
Connection with other attacks in X
According to Blockchain analyst Zachxbt, the hacking of Pump.fun is not an isolated incident. The cybersecurity specialist pointed out in Telegram that this attack is "directly connected on-chain" with other recent hackings in X, including that of JUPITER DAO at the beginning of February, and that of Dogwifcoin in November 2024. In all these cases, the compromised accounts were used to promote fraudulent tokens, which suggests the possible participation of the same group of attackers or the use of similar methods to access verified accounts.
This hackings pattern points to a worrying trend in the crypto ecosystem, where social networks have become a key channel for the promotion of fraudulent projects and price manipulation in Memecoins markets.
The rise of hackings in verified accounts to promote crypto scams
The hacking of Pump.fun adds to a series of similar incidents in recent months. On January 22, the X account of Nasdaq was compromised to promote a false memecoin, which reached a market capitalization of $80 million before collapsing. Shortly after, on February 12, a hacker took control of Zach Witkoff’s X account, co-founder of World Liberty Financial, to promote a memecoin related to Barron Trump, the son of the US president.
These cases reflect a growing strategy in which attackers focus on high-profile verified accounts to gain credibility among unsuspecting investors and generate a panic FOMO (fear of missing the opportunity) that artificially drives the value of the tokens, before the scammers liquidate their positions and disappear with the profits.
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