Solana-based memecoins have duped users out of $3.5 million in recent months. Hackers attacked high-profile social media accounts to promote tokens on the Pump Fun platform. Victims included McDonald's, Usher, and Wiz Khalifa.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT traced 16 coins to their initial investment in prior schemes. Andy Ayrey was the most lucrative target, earning $2.2 million from six tokens. McDonald's GRIMACE token raised over $690,000, while the USHER token raised approximately $650,000.
Recovering hijacked accounts proved difficult. Pablo Sabbatella, a blockchain security expert, emphasized the problems of coping with X's inadequate security features. ZachXBT claims to expose additional threat actors in the upcoming "Part 2" investigation. Previous investigations have resulted in arrests in France and the United States.
Pump.fun has suspended its live-streaming capability owing to the outrageous behavior of token makers. Since January, the platform has produced more than $250M in fees and issued roughly 4M tokens.
