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On Sunday, December 8, 2024, the crypto world was shocked by a hacking incident targeting the Cardano Foundation’s official X account. In this hack, the perpetrators managed to take control of the account and used it to spread false information that harmed the crypto community. One of the main repercussions of this hack was the promotion of a fake token called ADASol that capitalized on Cardano’s credibility to attract investors.
Fraudulent Posts that Shook the Crypto Community
The hack began with the first post claiming that the Cardano Foundation had been sued by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the post, it stated that as a result of the lawsuit, the Cardano Foundation decided to stop supporting the ADA token (Cardano’s native token) to “ensure regulatory compliance.” Of course, this claim is completely false and unfounded.
The second post promoted the ADASol token, which quickly reached a trading volume of $500,000. However, the price of this token immediately plummeted by 99% after the public realized it was a scam. As a result, many investors felt cheated, and financial losses were inevitable for those who fell for this false information.
Charles Hoskinson, Founder of Cardano, soon confirmed that the official Cardano Foundation account had been hacked. Hoskinson emphasized that this hack did not affect other parts of the Cardano ecosystem. The Cardano Foundation team immediately worked to restore the account and clarify the situation to the community.
Hoskinson also reminded users not to click on links or follow any instructions shared through the hacked X account. This step is important to avoid further threats like fraud or personal data theft.
This hacking incident not only hurt the Cardano Foundation’s reputation but also directly impacted the price of ADA, the native token of the Cardano ecosystem. The ADA price dropped by around 4% 24 hours after the hack and is now trading at around $1.16. The market capitalization of ADA also decreased by 4% to approximately $41.07 billion. Although this drop is relatively small, it significantly impacts investors and the community that follows Cardano’s development.
Social Media Account Hacking Phenomenon in 2024
This hacking incident, which happened to the Cardano Foundation, is not the first in the crypto world throughout 2024. Hacking social media accounts to spread false information and promote fake crypto tokens is increasingly becoming a serious threat to the crypto community.
One of the major hacks in January 2024 was the hack of the SEC’s (Securities and Exchange Commission) X account, which was used to publish a fake announcement about approving a Bitcoin ETF. This fake news briefly pushed the price of Bitcoin up dramatically but was soon exposed as a lie, causing it to plummet again.
In October, the X account of the Symbiotic restacking protocol was also targeted by hackers. The hackers posted a fake checklist promising airdrop rewards, but the shared link led to a phishing site that successfully stole tokens from the victim’s digital wallet. In the same month, a similar hack occurred on the X account of Eigenlayer, a popular staking protocol, to promote fake airdrops.
Not only crypto protocol-related accounts were targeted, personal accounts were also not spared. In November 2024, rapper Wiz Khalifa’s X account was reportedly hacked to promote a fake token called $WIZ. These hacks remind the public of the potential for massive exploitation if safeguards on social media platforms are not strengthened.