A sensational story unfolded in the cryptocurrency world with the rapid rise and fall of a meme coin named $MBAPPE, leading to a significant loss for an investor who poured over $1 million into the dubious token. The investor, using the analytics firm Lookonchain's data, created a new wallet and invested a substantial amount of 7,156 $SOL, equivalent to $1.03 million, into the $MBAPPE coin in a single transaction. However, the investment's value nosedived to a mere $9.2K shortly after.
The $MBAPPE token’s Rollercoaster Ride
The saga began when hackers gained unauthorized access to French footballer Kylian Mbappe's X account. Subsequently, they utilized the compromised account to promote the cryptocurrency ' $MBAPPE,' associated with the Solana-based memecoin deployer Pump.fun. This platform has garnered attention for its simplicity, allowing users to effortlessly create and launch their meme coins with just a few clicks.
Notably, the 'MBAPPE' token encountered a volatile journey as it surged quickly and then dramatically crashed within a brief timespan. Speculation arose regarding the legitimacy of Mbappe's involvement in promoting the token, as the posts endorsing the cryptocurrency remained on his profile temporarily before being swiftly removed. Observers noted the drastic fluctuations in the token's value, raising questions about the actual intent behind the promotional campaign.
Chinese journalist Colin Wu highlighted a user's swift move to invest 2 SOL, approximately $286, into the token and subsequently capitalize on the peak by selling it off, securing a handsome profit of around 1,398 SOL, roughly $200,000.
Interestingly, the incident echoes past occurrences where scammers exploited the footballer's reputation for illicit gains in crypto scams. During 2019 and 2020, fraudulent entities misappropriated Mbappe's image in online advertisements, enticing unsuspecting investors with false promises of lucrative returns through cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.
In response to these unauthorized activities, Mbappe took legal recourse against the misrepresentation of his identity. Moreover, the Financial Markets Authority of France documented a substantial number of complaints related to similar scams in 2018, resulting in victims collectively losing 55.5 million euros.
