Rapper 50 Cent has reported that his social media account and website were hacked, and the perpetrator used his platform to orchestrate a pump-and-dump cryptocurrency scheme, netting $3 million.
The artist claims he was unaware of the scheme until after the damage was done. “My Twitter & Thisis 50.com was hacked,” the rapper, 48, wrote on his Instagram late Friday.
“I have no association with this Crypto. Twitter worked quickly to lock my account back down. Whoever did this made $3,000,000 in 30 minutes,” he alleged.
In an Instagram post, 50 Cent shared screenshots of the “$GUNIT” memecoin, which surged from under $1 million in market value. As of Saturday morning, his X account remained locked. 50 Cent’s website was also shut down.
Curtis James Jackson III, known as 50 Cent, had previously testified in a 2018 bankruptcy filing that he never owned Bitcoin or had related assets, according to The Blast.
The clarification followed TMZ’s claims that 50 Cent made $7 to $8 million by holding 700 bitcoins. 50 Cent acknowledged accepting early Bitcoin payments but stated he never profited from them.