Benzinga - by Bibhu Pattnaik, Benzinga Staff Writer.
The social media account X of renowned rapper 50 Cent was allegedly compromised, leading to a multimillion-dollar memecoin scam, according to the artist himself.
What Happened: Curtis James Jackson III, famously known as 50 Cent, reported last week that his X account was exploited by hackers to execute a cryptocurrency pump-and-dump token scam.
The fraud involved a novel crypto token, “GUNIT,” which was used to lure investors and inflate its price. Eventually, the value was depleted, causing the token’s price to plummet to $0.00016, reports Cointelegraph.
On Tuesday, Jackson alerted his 32.8 million Instagram followers that his X account and website were compromised and a substantial amount of funds were siphoned off from the project.
“Whoever did this made $300,000,000 in 30 minutes,” Jackson said, emphasizing that he has “no association with this crypto.”
Also Read: Rapper 50 Cent Accepted Bitcoin For His Album ‘Animal Ambition’ 10 Years Ago: Here’s How Much He Earned In Crypto And What It’s Worth Now
Dex Screener’s trading data of the GUNIT memecoin revealed that several wallet addresses sold substantial quantities of the token. Four accounts sold over $100,000 of the memecoin following its promotion on the rapper’s X account. Jackson alleged that users were defrauded of more than $300 million as a result.
Why It Matters: This incident is part of a recent trend of celebrities being linked with cryptocurrency launches, including Caitlyn Jenner, who created confusion in the industry with conflicting messages after the launch of her own token.
It’s also noteworthy that 50 Cent has a history with cryptocurrencies.
The rapper made a pioneering decision a decade ago to accept Bitcoin as payment for his album "Animal Ambition." This move, which seemed experimental at the time, has resulted in significant financial gains for the artist over the past decade.
In 2014, he accepted Bitcoin for his fifth album, accumulating around 700 Bitcoins. As of 2024, the value of Bitcoin has surged dramatically, making those Bitcoins worth an astonishing $48 million.
Now Read: ‘I See Them Identifying With Trump,’ Says 50 Cent About Black Men Drifting Toward Ex-President In 2024 Election
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