CoinGecko's X account hacked, posts fraudulent token airdrop

Policy • January 10, 2024, 4:22PM EST

Published 1 minute earlier on

Quick Take

Crypto price platform CoinGecko saw its social media profile hacked on X.
A fraudulent post announced the launch of a token and included a suspicious link to claim an airdrop.

The cryptocurrency price tracking site CoinGecko had its account on the social media platform X hacked, the company announced on Wednesday.

In a fraudulent post, hackers promoted the launch of a new cryptocurrency called GCKO, which could pay for API services such as the cryptocurrency ANKR. They also included a suspicious link to a token airdrop.

CoinGecko later sought to limit the impact of the attempt to scam people with a warning posted to X.

"Our Twitter accounts CoinGecko and GeckoTerminal have been compromised," CoinGecko posted following the incident. "We're taking immediate steps to investigate the situation and secure our accounts. Please DO NOT click on any links or engage with suspicious content. Your security is our top priority. We'll keep you updated. Thank you for your understanding."

CoinGecko did not immediately respond to The Block's emailed request for comment.

SEC's hacked X account

CoinGecko's hacked account follows the Securities and Exchange Commission having its X account compromised on Tuesday.

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About Author

MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020 — joining just before bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for the publication, covering any and all crypto news but with a penchant toward NFT, metaverse, web3 gaming, funding, crime, hack and crypto ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. You can follow MK on X @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.