The official X account of Nasdaq, based in New York, was compromised by unidentified individuals. Hackers used the account to promote a memecoin called “STONKS.” The incident garnered significant attention, leading to the removal of the related post and the associated fake account by the platform.
How the Fake Memecoin Emerged?
The hackers took advantage of Nasdaq’s official account to launch a fraudulent memecoin. They created a fake X account that appeared connected to Nasdaq. The account promoted the memecoin STONKS, with the official Nasdaq account sharing the post, inadvertently supporting the scam. However, the fake X account was suspended shortly after, and its content was deleted.
The fake STONKS memecoin imitated an existing Solana 
$252-based project of the same name. The original STONKS project on Solana holds the intellectual property rights to this meme character. Despite this, the fraudulent project quickly attracted interest, reaching a market valuation of 80 million dollars before rapidly depreciating, resulting in substantial losses for investors.
High-Profile Accounts Have Been Targeted Before
This incident marks the latest link in a chain of frauds involving high-profile X accounts being hacked. Numerous celebrities and corporate accounts have previously fallen victim to similar attacks. Such incidents are often conducted to promote counterfeit cryptocurrency projects.
Experts urge users to carefully examine announcements from official accounts. Posts from hacked accounts usually lead to significant losses. Additionally, it is emphasized that social media platforms must address security vulnerabilities, and users should remain vigilant against such scams.
