A coordinated wave of hacks has compromised the X accounts of several prominent crypto influencers and celebrities, leading to the promotion of various tokens and memecoins.

Over the weekend, a series of high-profile social media accounts were hacked, with attackers using these platforms to promote a range of cryptocurrencies, from Luna2 and ORDI to celebrity-inspired memecoins. This spree has raised alarms about the security of influential accounts in the crypto space.

One of the latest victims is the pseudonymous cryptocurrency trader Gigantic-Cassocked-Rebirth (GCR), known for his contrarian trading strategies. GCR confirmed that his X account was hacked on May 26, with the attackers using it to post about ORDI and Luna2.0. These posts caused temporary price spikes of 6% and 274%, respectively, for the tokens.

The choice of tokens promoted by the hacker has puzzled some in the crypto community. Crypto analyst Miles Deutscher remarked that the hacker missed an opportunity to profit more significantly by promoting microcap coins instead of more established ones like ORDI and Luna2.0. “GCR hacker fumbled the bag hard,” Deutscher commented, noting the limited gains from the chosen tokens.

ORDI already boasts a market cap of $856 million, offering less upside potential compared to smaller-cap coins. This incident involving GCR appears to be part of a larger wave of hacks targeting celebrity X accounts, prompting warnings from the community.

Bitcoin developer and Ordinals commentator Udi Wertheimer revealed that there seems to be an ongoing operation to hack large X accounts. He advised users to exercise caution, especially during long weekends when platform engineers might be unavailable.

Among the hacked accounts was that of American rapper Rich The Kid (Dimitri Leslie Roger). His X account posted a link to a new token called “RICH” on Solana’s memecoin creator tool pump.fun, which quickly amassed a $90,000 market cap within two hours. The post was later deleted, and no official confirmation has been made regarding whether his account was hacked.

Around the same time, a new memecoin “JENNER” was promoted by the X account of American media personality Caitlyn Jenner. The JENNER token reached a market cap of $27.1 million shortly after its launch. Videos featuring Jenner and her manager, Sophia Hutchins, confirmed the authenticity of the posts and videos, dispelling rumors of a deepfake. Hutchins even hosted an X Space on Jenner’s account to reiterate the genuineness of the promotion.

“Yes, this crypto on my account is real,” Jenner stated in a video to her 3.3 million X followers. “If you wanna get in on this, get in in a hurry, OK, get in right now.”

Interestingly, the crypto wallet linked to the JENNER token was the same as one posted by adult content creator Kazumi, who promoted the coin “ZUMI” on May 20. This has led to speculation about a broader connection among the various tokens being promoted, including RICH, DOLL, and SOULJA, which are allegedly tied to the same wallet.

Despite these connections, Hutchins claimed that Jenner's team was unaware of any ties to these other tokens when questioned during the X Space.

The string of hacks underscores the growing threat to high-profile accounts in the crypto industry and the potential for significant market manipulation through these breaches. As the community continues to grapple with these security challenges, users are advised to remain vigilant and skeptical of sudden promotions from celebrity accounts.