Metallica's social media account was recently hacked by individuals who promoted a cryptocurrency token linked to the band, named METAL, allegedly built on the Solana blockchain. Messages from the compromised account claimed the token was launched in partnership with Ticketmaster, although Ticketmaster has not confirmed any such collaboration.

Once Metallica regained control of their account, all pro-token posts were removed. Initially, the posts implied a collaboration with fintech firm MoonPay, which MoonPay's president Keith Grossman promptly refuted, stating, "MoonPay does NOT support METAL" and warning followers about the scam.

The hackers purported that the METAL token offered exclusive benefits such as free concert tickets, branded merchandise, and even custom gaming consoles. They also mentioned staking incentives associated with the token.

Shortly after its launch, Dexscreener data showed the METAL token's total value briefly spiked to approximately $3.37 million within 20 minutes. However, the value plummeted dramatically within three hours, decreasing to just $90,000.

The method by which the band's account was hacked remains unclear, and Metallica's management team has not been available for further comment on the incident.