Cardano Foundation Website Compromised, False Token Sale Generates $500K in Trading Volume

Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano (ADA) and Input Output (IOHK), confirmed the Cardano Foundation’s X account was hacked this Sunday.

Cardano Foundation X Account Compromised

The Cardano Foundation clarified that the incident was limited to the X account and didn’t affect other platforms or systems. Hoskinson also called for better security measures on the social media platform.

Given that the CF account was hacked, it’s a good opportunity to re-visit a change X could make that would dramatically improve security for all users https://t.co/oaThTPI5wi

I will implement it for free @elonmusk. Just light the beacon

— Charles Hoskinson (@IOHK_Charles) December 8, 2024

The hackers used the account to post several false claims to mislead the community. The first fraudulent announcement claimed the launch of a Solana-based token called ADASOL and described it as a “Cardano, reimagined for Solana’s speed and innovation.”

Related: SEC Expected to Reject Spot Solana ETF Applications

The 13-post thread was highly detailed and linked to official resources, including the Foundation’s website and a recent podcast episode to make the scam more convincing. The fake token generated over half a million dollars in trading volume before users flagged it as fraudulent, per DEX Screener’s data.

However, after the initial post was deleted, the compromised account published another false statement. This time, it falsely claimed that the Cardano Foundation had been served with a lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

The post falsely stated:

In light of this unexpected legal action, we have made the difficult decision to immediately cease all support towards the $ADA token to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

This second post, which had replies disabled, quickly gained attention, with over 256,000 views on X. Many users issued warnings through the tweets, urging others to disregard posts from the account. 

When a community member questioned the legitimacy of the notice, a team lead at the Cardano Foundation confirmed the account had been compromised. The official Cardano Community X account also clarified, advising followers to ignore any content from the compromised handle.

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