In a turn of events that continues to capture the world’s attention, the feverish clamor surrounding celebrity-backed memecoins is going strong, approximately a month after reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner unveiled her JENNER token. The latest to join the flurry of public figures involved with Solana tokens is none other than the iconic heavy metal band, Metallica. However, there’s a twist: Metallica’s involvement stems from an unfortunate X account hack, a pattern we’re witnessing more frequently among investors within the cryptocurrency realm.
Metallica, a name synonymous with heavy metal music, recently made headlines for their partnership with the widely-popular video game, Fortnite, an effort looking to bring their music to a new and younger fanbase. But plans don’t always unfold smoothly, as became apparent on a recent Tuesday night when the Metallica X account mysteriously unveiled a post offering fans a new Solana-based token.
This token, named METAL, was presented to the public as a groundbreaking initiative from Metallica and Ticketmaster. As per the post, METAL was a “dynamic new token on the Solana blockchain poised to revolutionize how you experience events and online shopping.” Unlike some previous celebrity-endorsed memecoin ventures, it claimed METAL instantly offered functionality, providing customers who utilized the token to purchase concert tickets exclusive Ticketmaster discounts of up to 25%. Token holders could also score free tickets in exclusive airdrops and take a chance on winning one of three extraordinarily rare Metal Token Xbox Series X consoles signed by the band.
However, the appearance of METALA stirred a wave of skepticism amidst Metallica fans and crypto investors alike. The community rallied to debate the authenticity of these developments and question whether the band’s account had fallen victim to a hacking incident. Some community members pointed out that the graphics and posts associated with the METAL unveiling were impressively professional, fueling further debate.
Amid all the speculation, one claim appeared to create even more controversy. The alleged hacker asserted that the crypto payment company MoonPay was partnering with Metallica on the project. Yet, these allegations were swiftly denied by MoonPay, with the company taking aim at the unidentified hacker by dubbing them a “master of scams.”
Despite the stir within the crypto community, the METAL token managed to accumulate a market capitalization exceeding $2 million swiftly. Nevertheless, that surge was short-lived as the market cap tumbled promptly after Metallica regained control of their X account and removed the posts advertising the false METAL token.
Although most members of the online community faced disappointment, one investor seemed to have walked away the victor in this crypto rollercoaster ride. Having purchased the tokens at $50,000 market cap, this trader sold at the scam’s pinnacle, turning a meager $3.380 investment into a respectable $24,600.
Still, the rollercoaster isn’t quite over yet. METAL token currently sits at $0.00002031 in trading value, marking a steep 99.3% drop from its peak price of $0.003353. Correspondingly, its market cap stands at a mere $20,000, indicating a sharp 9000% fall. As the memecoin saga involving Metallica comes to a close, only time will reveal what the next big chapter in the world of celebrity-backed crypto brings.