Hackers Hijack Roaring Kitty X Account, Steal $10M in Fake Memecoin Rug Pull

Hackers recently gained control of Keith Gill’s verified X account. They posted a contract address for a Solana memecoin called Red Kitten Crew, known as $RKC. The posts included an image of a cartoon cat and the phrase “red bandit crew 4 life,” but were quickly deleted. Gill’s loyal followers, drawn by his legendary status from the 2021 GameStop saga, rushed to invest.

As a result, the token’s market cap surged to a peak of $12.24 million within minutes. However, it then plummeted by more than 90% as the bad actors sold off their holdings. This incident wiped out about $10 million in retail investments and highlighted the risks associated with influencer-driven cryptocurrencies.

Fake $RKC Pumps Rug Pull

Crypto traders grew increasingly concerned when Roaring Kitty’s X account unexpectedly began promoting an unfamiliar memecoin. The posts featured aggressive language and made exaggerated profit claims. This stood in stark contrast to Roaring Kitty’s usual focus on retail trading culture, stocks, and general market discussions.

The fake RKC token was created and launched on Pump.fun before quickly moving to Raydium. On its first trading day, the volume exceeded $32 million, with more than 186,000 transactions. While liquidity initially increased rapidly, heavy selling soon reduced it to around $340,000.

Furthermore, researchers discovered that wallets associated with the token’s creator transferred assets between interconnected addresses shortly after the token crash. Traders shared screenshots showing failed sell orders, significant price drops, and vanishing liquidity as the token’s value plummeted.

Celebrity Account Used for Stealth Rug

Analysts noted that legitimate cryptocurrency projects typically disclose contract structures, treasury allocations, and development teams publicly before launch, while the disputed memecoin reportedly lacked transparent documentation and independent security audits.

On-chain monitoring platforms reveal that a small cluster of wallets controlled a large percentage of the token supply, giving insiders enormous influence over pricing and liquidity conditions throughout the trading period. Evidence showed that portions of the funds were converted into major cryptocurrencies before moving across decentralized bridges and swap services commonly used to fragment digital asset transfers.

Although investigations into the suspected compromise of the Roaring Kitty account are ongoing, the incident has reignited concerns that compromised celebrity and influencer accounts are increasingly being used to promote fraudulent crypto projects targeting inexperienced traders.

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