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No, the Twitter Hack Wasn't About Bitcoin
The motivations and implications of a hack that had everyone from Coinbase to Kanye shilling a scam for bitcoin.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 9:32 a.m. Published Jul 16, 2020, 7:12 p.m.
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The motivations and implications of a Twitter hack that had everyone from Coinbase to Kanye shilling a scam for bitcoin.
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This episode is sponsored by Bitstamp and Crypto.com.
Today on the Brief:
- Adjustment to bank profits in anticipation of growing debt delinquency
- The lowest decrease in jobless claims since March
- A boost in retail spending
The Great Twitter Hack
Expert commentary provided by Dr. Tom Robinson, chief scientist and co-founder of Elliptic
Wednesday, at around 2:15 p.m. EDT, prominent Crypto Twitter accounts started sharing a similar message about a bitcoin giveaway. A couple of hours later, Elon Musk and Bill Gates were saying they were feeling generous and wanting to give bitcoin away. A couple more hours and every verified blue check mark account on Twitter was taken down. It's the great Twitter hack of 2020.
It was an attack with massive implications, if not much monetary gain.
On this episode NLW breaks down:
- What happened
- Which accounts were impacted
- How much BTC was transferred
- The narrative battle of “bitcoin scam” vs. “Twitter hack”
- Why it might have been a state-sponsored attack
- Why the real intention might have been to discredit Twitter
- Why the (supposed) revelations about Twitter’s administrative tools could end up in a congressional inquiry
Find our guest online:
Elliptic website: Elliptic.co
Twitter: @tomrobin
For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.
Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates.
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