tl;dr
Sydney Sweeney's Twitter account was apparently hacked to promote a new Solana meme coin, resulting in $13 million being invested in the token within an hour. Despite clear signs of fraudulent activity, including rapid-fire tweets and references to crypto lingo, some traders still invested in the to...
Sydney Sweeney's Twitter account was apparently hacked to promote a new Solana meme coin, resulting in $13 million being invested in the token within an hour. Despite clear signs of fraudulent activity, including rapid-fire tweets and references to crypto lingo, some traders still invested in the token. The price of the token soared by over 2,500% in 15 minutes before collapsing, leading to $13.6 million in trading volume. Sweeney deleted all references to the token after regaining control of her account. The hackers behind the scheme claimed responsibility for similar hacks on other celebrities and announced plans to target another high-profile figure. However, their attempt to launch a presale for a new token has not attracted any takers.
Sydney Sweeney appeared to suffer yet another crypto-related Twitter hack on Tuesday afternoon when the prominent actress’ account began aggressively shilling a new Solana meme coin before the posts were summarily deleted. But despite clear signs that the posts were likely fraudulent—the latest in a string of meme coin-focused Twitter hacks targeting celebrities—crypto traders nonetheless poured a startling $13 million into the token within less than an hour.
Shortly after 2:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Sweeney’s account began rapid-fire posting a slew of tweets about a newly created Pump.fun meme coin called SWEENEY, claiming the token was an official offering from the Euphoria and White Lotus star. Sweeney’s account also began invoking copious crypto lingo—referring to the actress as the “Queen of Sol,” and making allusions to industry characters like Sahil Arora, the controversial celebrity meme coin marketer.
Many Crypto Twitter users appeared fully aware that the posts were likely a hoax. In recent weeks, a range of celebrities—including 50 Cent and Hulk Hogan—have suffered near-identical exploits, which invariably led back to shadowy, Pump.fun-generated Solana meme coins. What’s more, Sweeney already endured a crypto-related Twitter hack earlier this year. In January, hackers used the actress’ account to promote a sexually themed Solana meme coin.
Some posted that despite knowing the token was likely created by hackers, they still thought they could turn a profit off the confusion and excitement generated by the new coin. In a fashion typical of most trending meme coins, the price of SWEENEY skyrocketed by over 2,500% within a span of 15 minutes, before collapsing back towards zero over the next hour. In that brief period, though, the token saw a boggling $13.6 million in trading volume. Within an hour, Sweeney appeared to reclaim her Twitter account, deleting all references to the token. She has yet to make a public statement regarding the hack.
The creators of the Sweeney token’s Telegram account openly admitted to hacking her account—and further claimed responsibility for hacking other celebrities including 50 Cent and Hulk Hogan. Decrypt has not been able to verify claims that the hacks were connected. Attempts to contact Sweeney’s purported hackers have as of yet been unsuccessful. The hackers have already moved on to their next gambit. In their Telegram channel, they bragged that they plan to soon hack another celebrity, one even “more popular” than Sweeney—and that clever crypto traders could get in on the ground floor of the token with a presale, if only they trustingly sent at least 5 SOL (worth $762 at writing) to an anonymous Solana wallet. Faith in the ability to profit on a crypto scam only goes so far, it would appear. No one has yet taken up the hackers on their offer, as of this posting.