Robinhood CEO's X Account Hacked: VLAD Token Scam Nets $1.3 Million

The X account of Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev was reportedly compromised on 23 July 2026. A message appeared on the account announcing the launch of an official mascot token called Vladhood (VLAD) for the Robinhood Chain, including a token contract address. The attacker is estimated to have made between $1.2 and $1.3 million from the scheme. The post has since been deleted.

Token contract flagged as scam

The block explorer of the Robinhood Chain quickly marked the VLAD token contract address with the label “SCAM”, warning users of potential fraud. The contract at address 0x92D176ccBeEffeCd8089e841D09ea17b6C22D969 shows 1,868 transactions and a current balance of 0 ETH, indicating that the attacker has already siphoned off the proceeds.

Blockchain monitoring service MLM reported via on-chain analysis that the attacker generated approximately 650 ETH in proceeds from the VLAD token. With Ethereum currently trading at $1.880 (down 2.9% over the past 24 hours), this equates to a sum between $1.2 and $1.3 million.

Account takeovers via X increasingly used in crypto scams

This is not a new phenomenon: scams using hacked social media accounts of prominent figures in the crypto and tech world are becoming more common. Attackers exploit the credibility of high-profile accounts to quickly reach a large following and lure them into buying worthless or fraudulent tokens.

In this case, the post gave the impression that Tenev himself was launching the token as an official part of the Robinhood Chain. The swift response from the block explorer and the removal of the post limited further damage, though the attacker had already made off with millions of dollars by that point. The incident serves as an exploit that painfully highlights how vulnerable even high-profile accounts can be to such attacks.