For a few tense minutes on Wednesday, followers of Andreessen Horowitz’s official X (formerly Twitter) account were startled to see it promoting a crypto “airdrop” — the kind often associated with scams. The post, followed by another claiming $5 million had already been given away, raised alarm bells, especially coming from an account with over 851,000 followers.
The situation escalated quickly — but so did the response.
A member of the a16z crypto team immediately posted a warning urging users not to engage. X swiftly removed the fraudulent post, but not before confusion spread across the platform.
In a statement to TechCrunch, a16z clarified what happened:
“Earlier today, our X account was briefly compromised. During that time, the account promoted a token and other fake content — none of which originated from a16z. Apologies for any confusion caused by the clowns who temporarily took over our account.”
Why It Mattered
The incident drew extra attention because Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a prominent player in the crypto space. The idea of them giving away tokens seemed plausible — but that’s exactly why the scam was effective, if only briefly.
Crypto “airdrops” are legitimate marketing tools used to promote digital tokens. But in the hands of scammers, they often turn into wallet-draining schemes disguised as giveaways.
The bottom line? If a deal sounds too good to be true — like a major VC firm handing out free crypto — it probably is.
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