An unidentified individual in the crypto space has achieved an incredible feat this year, turning a mere $68,700 investment into approximately $9.4 million by supporting a token that emerged from a social media hack.
According to a report by blockchain analytics company Lookonchain on Oct. 3, the trader purchased 63.07 million units of a Binance Smart Chain token called “4” on Oct. 1 for 68 BNB.
In just two days, the value of this investment increased by over 135 times, resulting in an unrealized profit of around $9.3 million. This extraordinary return underscores the speculative nature of meme coins.
Unlike traditional cryptocurrencies, these tokens often lack intrinsic value and are heavily influenced by social media trends. While they pose a significant risk due to their volatility, the allure of substantial profits continues to attract new participants.
Origin of the “4” memecoin
The “4” memecoin token has a rather peculiar backstory. On Oct. 1, cybercriminals compromised the official BNB Chain X account and used it to disseminate phishing links.
BNB Chain later confirmed that the breach resulted in the distribution of ten malicious links, causing total losses of approximately $8,000 across networks, with one individual losing up to $6,500.
Yu Xiang, the founder of blockchain security firm Slowmist, linked the attack to the Inferno Drainer group. He mentioned:
“This is another phishing operation associated with the infamous Inferno Drainer phishing group. Based on one of the phishing wallet addresses, there may be several dozen victims.”
Inferno Drainer is notorious for providing “drainer-as-a-service” kits, enabling scammers to create fraudulent websites and accounts to steal funds in exchange for a portion of the proceeds.
During the exploit, the attackers also introduced the “4” memecoin, selling their initial holdings for around $4,000. They manipulated the market to inflate prices and made another sale for $22,000 before abandoning the project.
In most cases, this would have marked the end of the token. However, instead of fizzling out, the community rallied together to take control of the project, turning it into a community-driven asset.
This unexpected turn of events triggered a surge in the token’s price. Dexscreener data reveals that “4” has surged by nearly 200% in the last 24 hours, trading at $0.1775 with a market capitalization exceeding $150 million at the time of writing.
