In a troubling turn of events for FC Barcelona fans, the soccer club’s official Instagram account was compromised, leading to the promotion of a fraudulent cryptocurrency project on the memecoin site Pump.fun. The hackers falsely claimed that the club was “building something massive on Solana,” enticing users with promises of a meteoric rise in value, stating, “we’re going to the moon,” while sharing the token’s address in two different posts.
FC Barcelona Supporters Face Further Disappointment from Scam $FCB Token
Despite the alarming posts, FC Barcelona has not issued any official communication about this supposed project. With a massive following of over 144 million on Instagram, at one point, one of the posts garnered 169,000 views, more than 1,600 comments, and 1,400 shares before being taken down after several hours. The club managed to regain control of its account from the hackers. The fraudulent token experienced typical volatility associated with Solana memecoins; it launched at 0:45 AM UTC, initially achieving a market capitalization of $3 million before plummeting to just $25,000. In its first 24 hours, trading volume exceeded $3.5 million, but it has since dwindled to approximately $70,000. Nevertheless, the token’s creators profited nearly $26,000 in rewards from Pump.fun.
Growing Collaborations Between Soccer Teams and Crypto
While the notion of an FC Barcelona cryptocurrency initiative may seem improbable, it isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility. Numerous clubs, including Barcelona, have collaborated with Socios to launch “fan tokens.” Teams like Inter Milan, Flamengo, AS Roma, and PSG have all engaged in similar partnerships. However, the fan token market appears to be relatively stagnant, with a total market capitalization of only $296,000 across 64 tokens, as noted by CoinGecko. Additionally, many well-known soccer clubs have sponsorship deals with various Web3 projects, such as Tottenham Hotspur’s partnership with Kraken and Sheffield United’s sponsorship by the MANEKI memecoin. Unfortunately for FC Barcelona fans who fell victim to the scam, their disappointment is compounded by a recent 4-1 defeat to Sevilla, leaving them in second place in the league behind the 36-time champions, Real Madrid.
Emerging Solutions in the Crypto Space for Scam Prevention
In light of the rising number of scams and rug pulls within the crypto space, tokens like Snorter Bot (SNORT) are gaining attention for their potential to provide security and reliability. SNORT is emerging as a top choice among Solana meme coins, particularly for the month of Uptober and the upcoming fourth quarter. It combines the viral appeal of meme coins with a leading Telegram trading bot that has consistently outperformed its peers. Token holders benefit from competitive trading fees of just 0.85%, which are more favorable than those offered by rivals like Trojan, Maestro, Banana Gun, and BONKBot. While initially designed for Solana trading, Snorter Bot is set to become multi-chain compatible, giving it an advantage over alternatives like BONKbot. In the near future, SNORT will also be available for trading on platforms such as Ethereum, Base, BSC, and other prominent blockchains. Moreover, Snorter Bot comes equipped with features like built-in MEV protection, an innovative sniper tool, and a copy-trade function, enabling users to follow the trading activities of their preferred wallets and influencers.
