Robinhood revealed on Thursday that Vlad Tenev’s X account was hacked to spread a fraudulent meme coin promotion. The company swiftly removed the deceptive post and is collaborating with X’s platform to regain control of the CEO’s profile.
The compromised tweet advertised a token called Vladhood under the ticker VLAD, claiming it would become an official mascot for Robinhood Chain and be available on Robinhood’s app. This false information triggered a rapid spike in trading activity, with VLAD’s market cap nearing $10 million within minutes.
However, the token contract was quickly flagged as suspicious by the Robinhood Chain’s Blockscout explorer, which reported nearly 1,900 transactions since the token’s launch via PonsLaunchFactory.
Meme coin frenzy on Robinhood Chain
This incident happens amid growing enthusiasm for speculative meme coins on Robinhood Chain, which launched on July 1. The network has already generated about $9 billion in decentralized exchange volume, mostly fueled by high-risk meme tokens, as noted by Entropy Advisors and highlighted by The Block.
Robinhood’s quick response to the breach shows the challenges platforms face in securing high-profile accounts from malicious actors exploiting the hype around meme coins.
This material is informational and does not constitute financial advice.
