Metallica's official X account was compromised on June 26. Hackers used it to promote a Solana-based token called METAL.
The legendary band's team has since regained control of their account. All posts about the token have been deleted. Nothing reminds of what happened now.
The initial post claimed a partnership with Ticketmaster. This was false. The token was actually launched on pump.fun, a Solana-based platform.
Ticketmaster made no announcement. They did not respond to requests for comment.
The hackers also falsely claimed MoonPay's involvement. MoonPay president Keith Grossman denied this. "MoonPay does NOT support METAL," he stated on X.
MoonPay later posted: "If someone is offering you a METAL token, they are not the master of puppets — they're the master of scams!" This referenced Metallica's 1986 album and single.
The hackers made several claims to attract buyers. For example, they promised exclusive items for token holders, like concert tickets, gaming consoles, and merchandise.
One post even mentioned staking rewards for an unknown token.
The METAL token's value peaked at $3.37 million. This occurred 20 minutes after its launch, according to Dexscreener data.
The token's value has since crashed, showing phenomenal volatility. Its market cap fell to $90,000 within three hours of its peak.
The method of the account breach remains unknown. Metallica and their management could not be reached for comment.