Musician Drake's X account seemingly hacked, used to promote Solana memecoin

Quick Take

  • Rap superstar Drake’s X account was seemingly hacked and used to promote a Solana memecoin based on the rapper’ cartoon “alter ego” to his more than 39 million followers on Saturday night.
  • The memecoin saw $5 million worth of trading volume before traders surmised the posts, which were later taken down, were fake. 
  • Several high-profile X accounts have been exploited in a similar manner in recent weeks. 

Canadian superstar Drake's X account was seemingly hacked on Saturday night and used to promote a Solana memecoin based on his cartoon "alter ego." 

Drake, born Aubrey Drake Graham, reposted and then quoted a post by a since-deleted X account promoting a memecoin purportedly called Anita, after Drake's cartoon "alter ego" Anita Max Wynn, a cartoon character inspired by his love of gambling. (Her name sounds like "I need a max win," referencing a common gambling phrase.) 

The false posts also claimed the memecoin was launched in partnership with Stake, Drake's choice crypto betting platform. The fraudulent coin "$ANITA" shares a name with the rapper's Anita Max Wynn Tour, which will see Drake returning to Australia and New Zealand for the first time since 2017. 

The memecoin, which was promoted to Drake's over 39 million X followers, saw $5 million in trading volume before traders seemingly realized the coin was fraudulent and stopped buying, according to DexScreener data. The posts were later removed from Drake's account. 

Drake's account was the latest high-profile X account to suffer a hack in recent weeks. The Cardano Foundation's X account was exploited last Sunday and similarly used to promote a memecoin scam, which saw merely a tenth of the volume as "$ANITA." Other celebrity musician hacking victims include Cardi B, Doja Cat, and Metallica


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About Author

Zack Abrams is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. Before coming to The Block, he was the Head Writer at Coinage, a Web3 media outlet covering the biggest stories in Web3. The story he co-reported on Do Kwon won a 2022 Best in Business Journalism award from SABEW. Other projects included a deep dive into SBF's defense based on exclusive documents and unveiling the identity of the hacker behind one of 2023's biggest crypto hacks — so far. He can be reached via X @zackdabrams or email, [email protected].

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