The crypto community was sent into a frenzy after the X (formerly Twitter) account of DB (@tier10k)—a well-known crypto news aggregator—was hacked and used to spread false reports.
One of the fake stories claimed that BlackRock had applied for a spot HYPE ETF, causing temporary market volatility. Another false report involved TRUMP token utility, leading to a brief pump-and-dump event before the news was debunked.
Background
- The DB (@tier10k) account is widely followed for delivering real-time crypto news and market updates.
- On March 12, 2025, the account was compromised, leading to the spread of fake news regarding a BlackRock iShares spot HYPE ETF application and a new TRUMP token utility feature.
- The HYPE token saw a 6% pump-and-dump following the false ETF claim, while the TRUMP token experienced a 20% price spike before crashing.
- Hyperliquid, the platform behind the HYPE token, is a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on its own Layer 1 blockchain, designed for high-speed, low-latency perpetual futures trading.
- The project has been gaining traction, particularly after its recent airdrop, with major influencers—including Andrew Tate—publicly discussing their HYPE token purchases.
- DB’s account was quickly recovered, and the false information was debunked, but the damage had already been done.
Why should you pay attention?
- Fake news can manipulate crypto markets, leading to sudden price swings that impact both retail and institutional traders.
- The rapid spread of misinformation highlights the risks of relying on social media for financial decisions.
- Bad actors may have continued the trend of using hacked accounts to exploit market movements for personal financial gain.
- The DB hack is part of a broader trend of cyberattacks on prominent crypto influencers, raising security concerns.
Who said what?
- DB (@tier10k) confirmed the hack, stating:
“Obviously hacked. Do not trust any messages for now. Unclear what happened, 2FA/Yubikey etc. all enabled. Will post details when I get them.”
- An X user, DeFiac, highlighted the impact of the false news, writing:
“DB (@tier10k) got hacked, and it got quite nasty. First fake news on TRUMP token, which resulted in a 20% pump-and-dump. Minutes later, a fake HYPE ETF listing caused a 6% spike before crashing. Someone’s going to jail over this.”
Zooming out
- The HYPE market recently experienced a significant disruption when a whale exited Hyperliquid’s HLP (Hyperliquidity Provider) vault with a $4 million loss.
- The HLP is a key component of the Hyperliquid protocol, acting as a community-owned vault that enables users to earn from market-making and liquidations.
- Some analysts suspect that the HLP may have been manipulated, leading to forced liquidations and losses amounting to 1% of the vault’s $451 million TVL.
- Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain revealed that a whale deposited 15.23 million USDC into Hyperliquid, built a $306.85 million long position in ETH, and was subsequently liquidated—but still managed to withdraw with a $1.86M profit.
- Arkham Intelligence tracked further on-chain movements, revealing that the same trader shifted funds into Sky Protocol SDAI, ETH, and on-chain gold (PAXG) after leaving Hyperliquid.
- Hyperliquid later clarified that there was no exploit or hack, but its liquidation engine struggled to process the position size efficiently.
