Metallica‘s X/Twitter account was apparently hacked by scammers pumping a cryptocurrency under the ticker “METAL.”
The first post to promote the Solana-based token appeared on the band’s X account early Wednesday (June 26th). The scammers went to great lengths to make the announcement look official, as seen in screenshots of the since-removed posts [via Cointelegaph].
“Get ready for the takeover,” reads the first post. “Tap into $METAL, a dynamic new token on the Solana blockchain poised to revolutionize how you experience events and shop online. In collaboration with @Ticketmaster.”
Yep, the scammers went as far as to mention partnerships with Ticketmaster and fintech firm Moonpay, even sharing professional-looking graphics with both brands’ logos in later posts. MoonPay president Keith Grossman was quick to dismiss any involvement on X/Twitter, posting: “MoonPay does NOT support METAL.”
The hacked Metallica account went on to post details about how users could cash in their METAL tokens to redeem concert tickets and exclusive merch, such as an Xbox Series X game console signed by the members of Metallica — again with a pro graphic depicting an actual Xbox with signatures.
The posts have been deleted and Metallica’s account restored to normalcy. While the band has yet to release a statement on the matter, it did repost Grossman’s tweet about Moonpay not supporting METAL.
Even still, the brief scam pumped the METAL token to a peak of $3.37 million roughly 20 minutes after it was launched. Three hours later, it had plummeted to $90k.
Given the apparent authenticity of the scam and the fact that other metal bands have launched crypto tokens, it’s not surprising that some bought in. Fellow thrashers Megadeth launched their own $MEGA Coin crypto a few years ago, as did metal luminaries Randy Blythe and Dez Fafara.
While you won’t be able to exchange any crypto for Metallica tickets, you can head over to StubHub to legitimately purchase tickets to the band’s upcoming and final “M72” gigs in North America.
