Sydney Sweeney, the American actress known for her roles in popular TV shows and movies, recently became the target of a hacking incident. Her X account was compromised to promote a cryptocurrency token bearing her name, in what appears to be a pump-and-dump scheme.
The Pump-and-Dump Scheme
The hacker used Sweeney’s account to promote a Solana-based token named SWEENEY. Within two hours of its launch on July 2, the token amassed over $10 million in trading volume, driven by multiple promotional posts from Sweeney’s hacked account. One of the now-deleted posts read, “Well I think it’s time… $sweeney is now live 100mc incoming.”
However, the token’s value plummeted nearly 90% just over an hour later, starting at 6:15 pm UTC. Despite a partial recovery, SWEENEY’s market cap currently sits at $1.2 million, a significant drop from its peak of $3.85 million, according to DEX Screener data.
Hacker Claims Responsibility
The administrator of a Telegram channel linked to the token took credit for the hack. In posts that have since been deleted, the hacker claimed responsibility for recent hacks on the X accounts of rapper 50 Cent and ex-professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, both used to promote similar fraudulent tokens. The hacker also hinted at targeting a celebrity even more popular than Sweeney, though they did not provide specifics.
This incident marks the second time Sweeney’s X account has been hacked to promote a cryptocurrency. In January, her account was breached to promote the Solana token MILK, which currently has a market cap of $1 million.
A Trend Among Celebrities
The hack of Sweeney’s account is part of a broader trend of minor celebrities promoting cryptocurrency tokens. Media personality Caitlyn Jenner and rapper Iggy Azalea have both launched and backed Solana-based memecoins, initially involving memecoin collaborator Sahil Arora.
Other celebrities, including American rapper “Rich the Kid,” Nigerian singer David Adedeji Adeleke Oon, and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, have also had token launches promoted from their X accounts. Among these, Azalea’s MOTHER token performed the best, reaching a peak market cap of $148.9 million. However, nearly $100 million has since been wiped from its market cap, as per CoinGecko data.
