Following news of the recent bitcoin hack, Twitter has announced that it is banning all messages and tweets that post cryptocurrency addresses.
Twitter Says “No” to Crypto Addresses
The hack occurred roughly three days ago. Twitter – one of the largest and most prominent social media platforms across the globe – saw accounts for several high-profile individuals such as former president Barack Obama, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk hacked and overtaken by malicious actors who sought to get unsuspecting users and followers to forward their bitcoin to anonymous addresses.
In all, only $121,000 in BTC funds have been stolen, which for the most part, isn’t that much, but Twitter isn’t taking any chances. The platform has announced that it will no longer be permitting tweets that post cryptocurrency addresses, and it’s already taking steps to ensure the ban is put in place.
From here on out, people looking to post cryptocurrency addresses into their messages receive the following notice:
This request looks like it might be automated. To protect our users from spam and other malicious activity, we can’t complete this action right now. Please try again later.
What’s unclear is if this action is only temporary. The fact that the message says “please try again later” suggests that perhaps when all the hype and the hoopla surrounding the recent attack dies down, maybe Twitter will permit the posting of crypto addresses once again. For now, however, it looks like this action has been suspended, leaving any seekers of crypto funds in the dust. The social media giant doesn’t want any more trouble.
The attack has been strange to say the least in that it involved some of the most high-profile accounts around. Many of these accounts belonged to a wide range of celebs and well-known figures, from past presidents to musicians to CEOs and politicians. What was the point, exactly? It’s not as if the hackers got their fingers on that much dough. $121,000 looks big on paper, but in comparison to some of the other crypto hacks of the past, this is a relatively small number, so what were the hackers in question looking to accomplish?
Things Weren’t as Bad as They Could Have Been
Is it possible that they initially thought they would receive more money that what was garnered? If so, those behind the attack are probably feeling relatively disappointed for the time being, as despite all the work and overtaking of well-known accounts, the final tally is on the lower portion of the spectrum.
The bitcoin price, despite falling to roughly $9,000 following the attack, hasn’t been affected much either and it appears interest in the currency is increasing somewhat. The asset has also risen back up to $9,100, which is about $100 less than where it stood just prior to the attack.
