Hackers have allegedly breached the X account of Vivek Ramaswamy, co-lead of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), using the platform to spread misleading claims of a partnership with the stablecoin project, Usual.
In a now-deleted post, Ramaswamy’s account announced a collaboration between DOGE and Usual to utilize cryptocurrency initiatives to reduce the federal fiscal deficit. The post outlined plans to “promote fiscal responsibility and foster financial inclusion,” which garnered significant attention before being discredited.
I just spoke with Vivek. He has been hacked. He is locked out of his account. This is a scam.
— James Fishback (@j_fishback) December 20, 2024
Fund manager James Fishback confirmed the breach on X, stating,
“Ramaswamy is locked out of his account. This is a scam.”
Ramaswamy’s involvement with DOGE stems from his recent appointment by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who tasked him and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk with leading the Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE’s primary mission is to tackle the nation’s massive $6.5 trillion federal budget, targeting wasteful spending and excessive regulations. Public records reveal that U.S. government expenditures reached $6.75 trillion in 2024, reflecting a $617 billion increase over the previous year.
The incident comes as the Usual stablecoin protocol, launched just four months ago, crossed the $1 billion market cap this week, becoming the seventh-largest stablecoin. Following the fabricated announcement, Usual’s price surged by over 30% to $1.57 before markets settled, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
This follows a recent cyberattack on hip-hop icon Drake’s X account, which has raised further concerns about the rising trend of celebrity account hacks. Hackers took advantage of Drake’s substantial social media following to promote a fraudulent meme coin based on Solana called $ANITA.
This token was named after Drake’s “Anita Max Wynn Tour” and was falsely marketed as a collaboration with Stake, the cryptocurrency betting platform he partnered with in 2022. Posts leveraging Drake’s brand and credibility generated significant buzz among his 39 million followers before the scam was uncovered.
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