Crypto Venture Capital Firm A16Z (Andreessen Horowitz) has regained control of the official X account after hackers took over it easily to promote fraudulent tokens.
On June 18, 2025, A16Z’s official X account was compromised and allowed unauthorized access to malicious actors using the platform to promote fake Solana-based tokens under the name “$a16z.”
The violation lasted for a short period of time, during which the attacker posted malicious links and false promotions to an audience of accounts of over 850,000 followers.
One of the posts is, “Official: $A16z launches its own token. Today, it marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of Crypto @solana, along with the wallet address used to purchase users.
Screenshots of posts shared during A16Z X account hack | Source: x
Several other posts have boosted the promise of fake giveaways and free tokens. This is all designed to seduce unsuspecting users, including those claiming a $5 million airdrop. On-chain data revealed that the fraudulent token temporarily pumped value following the post before crashing nearly 90% in a typical pump-and-dump pattern.
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A16Z quickly regained control of its account and quickly removed any fraudulent content. In a statement, the company confirmed that the violations were limited to X accounts, reassuring users that none of the promotions came from them.
“Today, our X account was temporarily compromised. During that time, the account promoted tokens and other fake content. None of them came from the A16Z. We apologise for the confusion caused by the clowns who temporarily took over our account,” the statement read.
The company’s response received mixed reactions from followers, raising many concerns about the security of its account. Some users have called on the company to issue a refund, claiming they were victims of the scheme.
This is not the first time an account related to A16Z has been targeted. In February, A16Z founder Chris Dixon (SHAW)’s personal X account was similarly compromised and used to promote the fake project. At the time, the co-founder explained that the violation was carefully planned and apologised to those affected by the scheme.
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