The legendary rock band Metallica's official X account was recently compromised by hackers, who used it to promote a fraudulent Solana token called METAL. The hackers falsely claimed a partnership with Ticketmaster to endorse the token, which was fabricated on the Solana-based platform pump.fun.

An investigation confirmed that no official collaboration with Ticketmaster existed. Metallica's team has since regained control and removed all misleading posts. In an unexpected twist, Metallica implicated fintech firm MoonPay in the scandal. MoonPay's president, Keith Grossman, swiftly denied any involvement, emphasizing on X: "Please be cautious. MoonPay does NOT support $METAL on @solana."

Following these exchanges, Metallica went a step further by blocking MoonPay's account. Metallica's experience isn't an isolated case. An earlier incident this month saw the SOL memecoin HULKAMANIA endure a $15 million market cap loss in a rapid pump-and-dump scheme within a span of two hours on June 6. This episode was linked to unverified endorsements by WWE legend Hulk Hogan, which he subsequently denied.

Despite these incidents, the Solana memecoin market remains resilient. As of the latest data, the market cap stands strong at $6.71 billion, marking a 10.1% increase within 24 hours. Moreover, other celebrity-associated Solana tokens like Jason Derulo's JASON and Iggy Azalea's MOTHER are experiencing bullish trends. CoinGecko statistics reveal an 85% surge for JASON and a 29% rise for MOTHER over the past day.

The METAL token's price briefly surged after the promotional posts but subsequently plummeted by approximately 90%, resulting in a market capitalization of around $43,000, according to Dexscreener. The circumstances surrounding the posts' creation and deletion remain unclear. Ticketmaster did not respond to The Block's request for comment, and Metallica could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.

The incident highlights the risks of fraudulent activities in the cryptocurrency space and the importance of vigilance for investors. Despite the challenges, the Solana memecoin market demonstrates remarkable resilience, driven by continued interest from celebrities and a robust market performance. As the blockchain landscape evolves, market participants must remain cautious, recognizing both the opportunities and threats that coexist in this dynamic environment.