TL;DR:
- Main Incident: A scammer impersonated the veterinarian of Jonathan, a 193-year-old tortoise, to falsely announce his death and promote a token.
- Financial Impact: The Solana-based memecoin, named JONATHAN, surged 6,000% before crashing to $0.00007043.
- Proposed Measure: Nikita Bier, X’s product lead, suggests automatic blocking and verification for accounts mentioning crypto for the first time.
The social platform X is considering implementing strict regulations for cryptocurrency posts made by users mentioning digital assets for the first time. This initiative arises as a direct response to a sophisticated phishing scam that used the image of a historic animal to deceive retail investors.
Data from CoinMarketCap reveals that the extreme volatility of the JONATHAN token underscores the risks of Solana-based assets without real backing. The fraud spread rapidly on Thursday, reaching unsustainable price peaks before outlets like the BBC and The Guardian debunked the chelonian’s passing, leaving hundreds of users with total losses.
Mandatory Verification Against Memecoin Fraud
Nikita Bier stated that the goal is to eliminate the incentive for scammers by 99%. The technical proposal suggests that any new account or those without a history in the sector attempting to post about cryptocurrency would be preemptively blocked until passing a human validation process.
Furthermore, this measure seeks to mitigate the use of legitimate hacked accounts used to promote “double your money” schemes. The case of Jonathan the tortoise, who resides in the territory of Saint Helena, is just the latest example of a trend where the identities of public figures or cultural landmarks are impersonated.
X’s administration aims to strengthen the security of the digital ecosystem in the face of inaction from other tech giants regarding phishing. If implemented, these rules will drastically change how new enthusiasts interact with the crypto market within the social network.
