Metallica’s X account was hacked on Wednesday, and the hackers promoted a token called $METAL to its 6.1 million followers. In a series of posts, the hackers claimed various things about the token, like it being a partnership with Ticketmaster, the American ticketing company, and MoonPay, a well-known fintech firm.
Other claims included token holders receiving discounted tickets to Metallica’s shows and merchandise—lucky airdrop winners would apparently receive free tickets and merchandise. A post even mentioned three $METAL holders even receiving Metallica-themed gaming consoles, of which only three were created. Metallica’s team has regained control over the X account and taken down all posts about $METAL.
One post read, “$METAL opens doors to executive discounts—imagine snagging 25% off ticket purchases just by using $METAL at checkout! Whether you’re at a Metallica concert or browsing the online store, $METAL seamlessly integrates into your shopping experience, powered by the reliability of Solana for effortless transactions.” The token was launched on Solana via the pump.fun deployer.
Ticketmaster is yet to respond. MoonPay’s President, Keith A Grossman took to X to notify everyone about the scam, stating, “If someone is offering you a $METAL token, they are not the master of puppets – they’re the master of scams!” For those unaware, Grossman referenced the heavy metal band’s 1986 album ‘Master of Puppets.’
The statement was a reply to another deleted post on Metallica’s account reading, “Utilizing MoonPay, $METAL Token wants to bring wide scale adoption to the @Solana blockchain. Soon anyone will be able to buy Metal Token with credit $ debit cards worldwide.” The hackers even spoke about $METAL’s staking utility.
Metallica’s fanbase and crypto users convinced of the posts’ legitimacy took $METAL’s market cap to over $3 million within the first thirty minutes of its launch. Three hours later, its market cap dropped to about $90,000.
Image by Javier Ignacio Abarca Aguilera from Pixabay