Recently, the X account of renowned actor Tom Holland fell victim to a hacking incident. This breach, impacting his profile with over 7 million followers, was utilized by the attackers to promote a fraudulent cryptocurrency and NFT scheme. The compromised account was manipulated to announce a false partnership with the reputable global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, promoting the launch of “Spiderverse” tokens. Users were enticed with a link to a counterfeit website, promising early access to the non-existent SPIDER cryptocurrency and Spiderverse NFTs.
The Intriguing Hack
As followers discovered the hack, changes to Holland’s bio and profile were evident, including the insertion of a link to the phony partnership website. Additionally, a peculiar selfie of an unidentified individual with curly hair, potentially the hacker, materialized on Holland’s profile. The caption accompanying the image made a reference to an iconic scene from the original Spider-Man movie. Despite initially pinning the post on his profile, it was swiftly removed. The timing of this incident coinciding with the re-release of Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man film in select theaters on April 15 adds another layer of intrigue to the situation.
Fans’ Reactions and Marvel’s Past Ventures
The revelation of this hack elicited a range of responses from fans, with some expressing relief that Holland had not genuinely endorsed the crypto scheme, while others made jests about the events. The contrast between the disappointment of fake “Spider-Man 4” teases and the relief of not losing the beloved web-slinger to a deceitful crypto scheme was palpable. Though Holland’s involvement in promoting “Spiderverse” turned out to be fabricated, Marvel has previously delved into the cryptocurrency realm.
In late 2021, AMC collaborated with Sony Pictures to offer NFTs to early purchasers of Holland’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” a successful initiative that contributed to the film’s remarkable box office performance, surpassing $1.9 billion. Furthermore, AMC Theatres introduced the option for customers to make online ticket payments using popular meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu in 2022. VeVe, a New Zealand-based NFT company, partnered with Marvel to release Spider-Man NFTs, which included the debut Marvel book from 1939. This collaboration extended to the launch of NFT comics featuring Marvel superheroes like Spider-Man and the X-Men, leveraging Ethereum technology.