Late Thursday night, something strange happened on Instagram. The verified accounts of several major music artists—Adele, Future, Tyla, and even the late Michael Jackson—started posting about a cryptocurrency. It was pretty clear, almost immediately, that this wasn’t some new promotional stunt. The accounts had been hacked.
The posts, which have since been deleted, featured what looked like an AI-generated image of the rapper Future. He was holding a giant coin with the word “FREEBANDZ” on it. That’s the name of his record label and clothing brand. It’s also the name of a new meme coin on the Solana blockchain that, as far as anyone can tell, has absolutely nothing to do with him or his business. Future’s main Instagram account is now completely inactive.
How the Meme Coin Pump-and-Dump Unfolded
The token was created on Pump.fun, a platform known for quickly launching new coins. The scheme followed a familiar, brutal pattern. The coin’s price shot up, reaching a market value of nearly $900,000. Then, just as quickly, it all fell apart.
Someone, presumably the hacker, sold off a massive chunk of the tokens all at once—700 million of them. That single transaction caused the price to completely collapse, dropping by 98% to a measly $20,000. The person behind it walked away with over 250 SOL, which is worth roughly $49,000. Not a bad payday for an evening’s work, I suppose, if you have no scruples.
This Isn’t a New Problem
This kind of thing has been happening for a while now. Hackers take over big social media accounts to push a cryptocurrency, hoping the celebrity’s name will lend it credibility. They inflate the price, cash out, and disappear, leaving anyone who bought in with worthless tokens.
It’s a classic pump-and-dump, just using modern tools. Earlier this year, the official UFC Instagram account was compromised in a similar way, leading to over a million dollars in losses. Even figures like Barack Obama and Elon Musk have had their accounts used in these schemes. It makes you wonder about the security on these platforms, doesn’t it?
Silence from the Stars
As of Friday afternoon, none of the artists involved have publicly commented on the breach on their Instagram or X accounts. The posts are gone, but the incident leaves a lingering question about how secure these high-profile accounts really are. For the people who lost money, the silence is probably pretty frustrating.
It’s a reminder to be incredibly skeptical of anything you see promoting crypto, even if it seems to come from a source you trust. If something feels off, it probably is.
