Another high-profile attack on the crypto community occurred on social network X: attackers gained access to the account of Kylie Jenner, followed by 39.5 million people, and used it to promote a memecoin called kylie. The token's market capitalization rapidly soared to nearly $1.19 million, followed by a sharp collapse of approximately 68%.
The attack scheme was classic for such incidents. First, a post about trading appeared on the account, and then followers were redirected to a profile imitating the Pump.fun platform under the name cutekjenner. In the second post, users were provided with the ticker and token contract address. Both posts gathered about 50,000 and 33,000 views respectively before being removed. Attentive users quickly noticed the unnatural presentation of information and suspected a hack.
Capitalization dynamics: surge and nosedive
According to analytics services, on the decentralized exchange PumpSwap, the capitalization of the kylie token peaked at $1.19 million. However, by the time of the analysis, it had already fallen to $378,500, with a daily trading volume of $6.1 million. Liquidity held at $58,900, and the token was distributed among approximately 3,700 holders. Such volatility is a vivid example of how quickly bubbles created on hype collapse.
Wave of fake tokens
The deleted posts triggered a real boom of imitators. Traders instantly created several similar cryptocurrencies themed around Kylie Jenner on the Solana network. Most of them have no value and possess minuscule capitalization. One such asset, with the same profile image, also grew to $1.04 million, but the rest range from $29,800 to $370,300. None of them lasted longer than a few hours.
Systemic problem: hacks as a business
Attackers use the same techniques as in previous attacks. In July, hackers compromised the SpaceX and Starlink accounts to promote the SCATMAN token, earning about $125,000. At the end of July, the account of Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev was attacked — the hacker made approximately $1.2 million on the Vladhood token. Additionally, a fake cryptocurrency called USA was promoted from the hacked account of Senator Cynthia Lummis, and in January 2025, actor Dean Norris publicly disavowed the launch of DEAN after his account was compromised.
My analysis: This incident is another reminder that memecoins launched through hacked celebrity accounts are a pure trap for retail investors. Until major platforms implement stricter verification measures and strengthen protection against social engineering, such schemes will repeat. Investors should exercise extreme caution and not give in to emotions when seeing "hot" news from famous figures — in 99% of cases, it is fraud.