Summary
- Robinhood said CEO Vlad Tenevs X account was hacked Thursday after it was used to promote a fake memecoin called Vladhood ($VLAD) as the “official Robinhood chain mascot.”
- The fraudulent post falsely claimed the token would be listed in the Robinhood app and included a blockchain wallet address before being deleted.
- The incident comes as Robinhoods newly launched blockchain network has rapidly attracted more than $700 million in assets and heavy speculative trading in memecoins.
Robinhood (HOOD) CEO Vlad Tenev's X account was compromised on Thursday and used to promote a fake memecoin as traders have piled into tokens on the brokerage's recently-launched blockchain network.
The now-deleted post introduced a token called Vladhood ($VLAD) as the “official Robinhood chain mascot” and falsely claimed it would be listed in the Robinhood app. It included a blockchain wallet address and described the token as part of the company's focus on Robinhood Chain.
“Does Robinhood love memes？ The answer is yes,” the post read.
Robinhood later confirmed the account had been hacked.
“Heads up: Our CEO Vlad Tenev's X account was compromised and posted a fake promotion for a meme coin,” the company said through its communications account on X. “We're working with X to restore access and the post has been removed.”
The deleted X post from Val Tenev's hacked account. (X)
The incident came as Robinhood's newly launched blockchain has become a hotbed of speculative trading.