Memecoin

<p>Hackers likely took over McDonalds’ Instagram account to promote a Solana-based memecoin called GRIMACE. The cyberattack, which briefly duped investors, underscores the growing trend of cryptocurrency scams exploiting high-profile social media accounts.</p>
<p>The hackers didn’t just post about GRIMACE—they crafted a narrative, presenting the token as “a McDonald’s experiment on Solana.” This was enough to convince some that the fast-food giant was genuinely behind the project.</p>
<p>To add to the deception, the hackers altered McDonald’s profile, thanking users for “$700,000 in Solana” and hinting at a rug pull—a blatant signal of the scam.</p>
<p>The fraudulent post on Wednesday sparked a flurry of activity. Investors rushed in, thinking they were getting in early on a McDonald’s-backed venture. According to&nbsp;<a href="https://pump.fun/4BRummYdfvoEGQwYzTSmn5F6RyAFdrHUTFkeagobpump" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Pump.fun data</a>&nbsp;the token’s market cap soared to $20 million in no time, only to crash below $1 million when the hackers cashed out, leaving investors with virtually worthless tokens.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mcdonalds-marketing-director-s-x-account-hacked"><strong>McDonalds Marketing Director’s X Account Hacked</strong></h2>
<p>The post was eventually deleted, but the damage had already been done.</p>
<p>Even McDonalds marketing director, Guillaume Huin, unknowingly contributed to the chaos by posting about GRIMACE on X with his account likely hijacked by the same hackers.</p>
<p>His post, like the one on Instagram, has since been removed, but not before it added to the confusion.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter">
 <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
   <p lang="en" dir="ltr">McDonald's official Instagram account was suspected to have been hacked, claiming that it had issued the Meme token "GRIMACE" on Solana. The market value of GRIMACE rose to $25 million within 30m and then fell rapidly. Guillaume Huin, the marketing director of McDonald's, also… <a href="https://t.co/uLrgxK1DCz" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pic.twitter.com/uLrgxK1DCz</a></p>— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) <a href="https://twitter.com/WuBlockchain/status/1826290323691274627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">August 21, 2024</a>
  </blockquote>
  <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 </div>
</figure>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-media-hackers-growing-threat"><strong>Social Media Hackers Growing Threat</strong></h2>
<p>This incident is the latest in a string of social media hacks targeting major brands and celebrities to push cryptocurrency scams. Earlier this year, Google’s cybersecurity firm Mandiant had its X account hacked.</p>
<p>The attackers posed as the official crypto wallet Phantom, promoting a fake PHNTM token distribution and directing users to a scam website.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter">
 <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
   <p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dear <a href="https://twitter.com/phantom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@phantom</a> wallet &amp; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Solana?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">#Solana</a> users <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f6a8.png" alt="🚨" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;"><br><br>There is a fake Phantom wallet app in the Apple Store that looks real but will drain all your assets as soon as you use you recover your account with a private key <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f64f-1f3fb.png" alt="🙏🏻" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;"> <a href="https://t.co/aiRgxueuZ0" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://t.co/aiRgxueuZ0</a> <a href="https://t.co/1vPgG5lFWT" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pic.twitter.com/1vPgG5lFWT</a></p>— Alex SwissBorg <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f49a.png" alt="💚" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;"> (@alex_fazel) <a href="https://twitter.com/alex_fazel/status/1806607510582772104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">June 28, 2024</a>
  </blockquote>
  <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 </div>
</figure>
<p>In a similar incident, Doja Cat’s X account was hijacked in July to promote another&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2024/04/22/newly-announced-solana-presale-memecoins-abandoned-in-a-month/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Solana-based memecoin</a>. The hacker flooded her profile with tweets to her 5.6 million followers, attempting to draw them into the scam.</p>
<p>Doja Cat quickly responded on Instagram, clarifying that she wasn’t behind the posts. Despite her quick action, the incident caused a lot of damage among her 24 million followers.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-rise-of-memecoin-rugs"><strong>The Rise of Memecoin Rugs</strong></h2>
<p>The GRIMACE debacle shines a light on the risks associated with the growing memecoin market. Behind GRIMACE was Pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin generator that has been instrumental in the creation of over 1.8 million memecoins as per Dune Analytics&nbsp;<a href="https://dune.com/queries/3705945/6235708" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">data</a>. While the platform has gained traction, it’s also faced criticism for its low success rate.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter">
 <div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
   <p lang="en" dir="ltr">2/23<br><br>We're starting to flush out memes.<br><br>The "graduation rate" of coins on Pump Fun (those that made it to $69k and got listed on a dex) is stagnant around 1.4%<a href="https://t.co/fCruRRnvZW" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">https://t.co/fCruRRnvZW</a><br><br>(h/t <a href="https://twitter.com/0xBreadguy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@0xBreadguy</a>)</p>— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) <a href="https://twitter.com/adamscochran/status/1819053020761526470?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">August 1, 2024</a>
  </blockquote>
  <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 </div>
</figure>
<p>According to Dune Analytics,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2024/08/09/solanas-pump-fun-removes-fees-but-will-it-stop-rug-pulls/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">only about 1.4% of coins created</a>&nbsp;on Pump.fun reach the $69,000 market cap needed to be listed on a decentralized exchange (DEX). This low “graduation rate” has raised concerns about the platform’s sustainability and the broader memecoin market.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2024/08/22/grimace-a-solana-based-memecoin-that-rallied-after-a-mcdonald-hack/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">GRIMACE: A Solana-Based Memecoin That Rallied After A McDonald Hack</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.thecoinrepublic.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">The Coin Republic</a>.</p>

GRIMACE: A Solana-Based Memecoin That Rallied After A McDonald Hack

Table of Contents

Thecoinrepublic.com

Other articles published on Aug 22, 2024

Former TON Foundation Leaders Introduce $40M Fund TON Blockchain Growth

Indian Authorities Arrest Man for Kidnapping Linked to $2.4B BitConnect Scam

Xai Foundation Teams Up With Gauntlet To Improve Governance And Treasury Management

Taiwanese Court Convicted Eight Spies Paid In Crypto By China

Why is cross-chain important?

Grayscale Investments Announces Avalanche Trust Launch

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!