French soccer star Kylian Mbappé’s X-account was compromised on August 28 when hackers used the platform to promote a Solana-based token called MBAPPE.
Shortly after the fraudulent posts appeared on Mbappé’s account, the MBAPPE token experienced a dramatic increase in market capitalization, briefly reaching $460 million, according to DEX Screener.
However, this surge was short-lived as the token’s value quickly crashed in a classic pump-and-dump scheme, resulting in significant losses for many crypto traders. According to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, one investor lost over $1 million after purchasing 7,156 SOL worth of MBAPPE tokens, whose value quickly dropped to just $9,200.
In contrast, another trader who invested only 2 Solana (SOL) made a profit of around $200,000 by selling at the token’s peak price.
The incident also included a series of bizarre posts from Mbappé’s account, including fake transfer news and controversial comments about other football stars. These posts, as well as the promotion of the fraudulent token, were later deleted.
Other celebrity crypto hacks
In June, rapper 50 Cent’s X account and personal website were hacked to promote a fake cryptocurrency called GUNIT, resulting in a pump-and-dump scam.
The hackers reportedly stole $300 million in 30 minutes by exploiting 50 Cent’s influence, but trading data shows lower volumes.
Also in June, Metallica’s X account was hacked to promote a Solana token called METAL. Scammers made false claims about partnerships with Ticketmaster and MoonPay. The token’s market cap briefly reached $3.37 million before crashing to $34,000.
The incident, attributed to notorious scammer Sahil Arora, involved misleading posts about discounts and staking rewards.
Mbappé’s representatives have not yet commented on the data theft and it remains unclear how the account was compromised.
