- Bad actors took control of McDonald’s official Instagram account to promote a cryptocurrency scam- data.
- The promoted digital currency is based on the Solana blockchain, per additional information.
- When writing, the official Instagram account of the beverage brand McDonald has 5.1 Million followers.
Till June 2024, the broader cryptocurrency market has 100,37 listed projects, including currencies and coins. One can create his own digital currency by leveraging smart contracts and blockchain features; nowadays, creating crypto has become relatively easier.
As per sources, the official Instagram account of McDonald’s was hacked by bad actors to promote a cryptocurrency project based on the Solana chain. Data available on SolanaProject(dot)com states that until August 21, 2024, there are 405 projects listed on the SOL blockchain.
The hack was discovered by X user (Timo Bullt- Crypto Insiders), noting that “The official Instagram account of McDonald was hacked to promote $GRIMACE a crypto scam based on Solana chain.”
The promoted cryptocurrency scam is backed by the name of a character feature by McDonald, “GRIMACE.” Screenshots of the profile highlight the bio, which notes that the fraud was rug-pull, resulting in $700k losses; an Indian flag accompanies the bio.
The flag in the bio has raised speculations about the Indian connection behind the rug pull. However, some market watchers claim that the flag is the bio placed to defame the progressing crypto landscape in India.
As of writing, the Instagram account has 5.1 Million followers globally; after the reported hack no fresh posts have been made by McDonald’s.
Why Scammers Leverage Social Media For Promotion?
Hacks, scams, and frauds are becoming quite common in the broader crypto space, backed mainly by social media promotions. One of the possible reasons behind the hacking and prompting of crypto scams via social media as it enables bad actors to reach a broader audience easily.
In the past few years, hacking social profiles of leading brands, celebrities, sportspersons, and politicians has surged over 150%. Earlier this week, Matthew Perry’s X account was hacked for raising donations in cryptocurrencies.
In July 2024, the X account of Doja Cat, an American singer and rapper, was hacked by some anonymous hacker to promote a SOL-based memecoin.
Following the hack, the bio and other personal details of the Doja were changed, and the hacker posted around 20 posts promoting the purchase of $DOJA. Social media hacks are growing constantly, particularly with advancing technologies.
Other Market News
On August 22, 2024, Todayq reported that Bitfarms Ltd is acquiring Stronghold Digital Mining in a $175 Million deal. The acquisition is a stock-for-stock merger, likely to be completed by Q1 2025.
Tether, the issuer of USDT, revealed on August 21, 2024, that it is planning to launch a stablecoin pegged with the traditional currency of the UAE.
gETH Locked Deposit #158 became one of the most expensive NFTs sold on August 21, 2024, for $256,512.86.
Crypto Market Price Update
At press time, the cryptocurrency market capitalization was $2.15 Trillion, with an intraday addition of 2.09%. Despite this bullishness, the market constantly fails to sustain itself at higher levels.
In the past 24 hours, the market’s trading volume surged over 18%, reaching $70.12 Billion. Similarly, Bitcoin’s price reflected a bullish momentum, adding 2.53% and reaching $60,964.
