BREAKING: a16z Regains Control of Hacked X Account After Fraudulent Token Scam Promotion

Crypto VC giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) wrestled back control of its X account today after hackers used it to push a shady token scheme—because even Silicon Valley's smart money isn't immune to crypto's favorite pastime: getting robbed blind.

The breach lasted just under 3 hours—long enough for scammers to blast 'limited-time offers' for a fake a16z token to the firm's 280K+ followers. No word yet on whether any degens actually bought the nonexistent asset (though let's be real—someone definitely did).

Security teams scrubbed the fraudulent posts by 10:47 AM PST. X's support portal still lists the incident as 'under investigation'—corporate speak for 'we'll get to it after coffee.'

This marks the 17th high-profile crypto Twitter hack this quarter alone. Pro tip for VCs: maybe stop using 'password123' as your 2FA backup code?

Several other posts pushed fake giveaways and promises of free tokens, including one claiming a $5 million airdrop, all designed to lure unsuspecting users into engaging with the compromised content. On-chain data revealed that the fraudulent token briefly pumped in value following the posts, before crashing nearly 90% in a typical pump-and-dump pattern.

a16z regained control of the account shortly after and swiftly deleted the fraudulent content. In a statement, the firm confirmed the breach was limited to its X account and reassured users that none of the promotions came from them.

“Earlier today, our X account was briefly compromised. During that time, the account promoted a token and other fake content— none of which originated from a16z. Apologies for any confusion caused by the clowns who temporarily took over our account,” the statement read.

The firm’s response received mixed reactions from followers, with many raising concerns about the account’s security. Some users claimed to have fallen victim to the scheme and called on the firm to issue refunds. 

This is not the first time an a16z-affiliated account has been targeted. Back in February, the personal X account of a16z founder Chris Dixon (Shaw) was similarly compromised and used to promote a fake project. At the time, the co-founder described the breach as carefully planned and apologized to those affected by the scheme.