In a quite surprising improvement, hackers took over the Instagram accounts of some music celebrities to advertise a fraudulent Solana-based memecoin. This incident comes after one other high-profile market controversy involving Kanye West’s YZY token.
Celebrity Profiles Hacked, Memecoin Crashes After $900,000 Pump
In an X put up on Friday, widespread media outlet NFR Podcasts reported that Instagram accounts belonging to the late Michael Jackson, in addition to artists Adele, Tyla, and Future, had been concurrently compromised to advertise a rip-off memecoin. The fraudulent posts shared throughout the accounts featured a picture of Future holding an outsized coin branded FREEBANDZ — the identical identify because the rapper’s music label and clothes model. The imagery appeared designed to create a false sense of endorsement and legitimacy for the token.
Although the posts have since been eliminated, Future’s Instagram account was in the end disabled. And as of now, not one of the affected events has issued public statements concerning the incident. According to information from Dexscreener, the token briefly surged upon launch, reaching a market cap of practically $900,000 earlier than collapsing to round $15,000 in about half-hour.
Michael Jackson, Future, Tyla, and Adele’s Instagram accounts have been hacked concurrently pic.twitter.com/MCMPcU41Ww
— NFR Lite (@NFR_Lite) August 22, 2025
On-chain information suggests the rip-off’s orchestrator could also be linked to a pockets tackle ending in zcmPHn, which dumped 700 million FREEBANDZ tokens, securing 251.41 SOL valued at roughly $45,600. Another pockets, ending in bTp, additionally walked away with an extra $13,300 after swapping 85.6 million FREEBANDZ.
The fast pump-and-dump underscores the dangers surrounding memecoins and the benefit with which hackers exploit high-profile names to lure in unsuspecting traders. In late 2024, for example, rapper Drake’s X account was additionally compromised to advertise a Solana memecoin known as $ANITA, which generated round $5 million in buying and selling quantity earlier than collapsing.
Meme cash stay largely unregulated, and the SEC has beforehand clarified that almost all don’t qualify as securities, likening them as a substitute to speculative collectibles with no underlying promise of revenue. This regulatory hole has made memecoins fertile floor for these sorts of scams, highlighting the necessity for warning amongst merchants.
Kanye West’s YZY Under Scrutiny For Insider Trading
In different developments, rap legend Kanye West has develop into embroiled in one other memecoin controversy. According to Bitcoinist, the YZY token skyrocketed to a $3 billion market cap at launch earlier than plunging greater than 70% inside hours.
On-chain information reveals a number of wallets have been pre-funded and primed to purchase instantly after Ye’s announcement, fueling suspicions of insider buying and selling. Notably, 13 wallets collectively walked away with $24 million in earnings from the YZY frenzy. The token now trades at $0.705, with a completely diluted valuation (FDV) of $699.3 million.
Featured picture from ABC News, chart from Tradingview
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