Tom Holland’s X account, followed by over 7 million, was recently compromised to endorse a fraudulent cryptocurrency and NFT scheme involving “Spiderverse” tokens.
The hacked account featured announcements of a non-existent partnership with Binance to launch these tokens, complete with links to a deceptive website promising early access to the fake SPIDER cryptocurrency and Spiderverse NFTs.
Followers noticed modifications to Holland’s bio linking to this bogus partnership site, and a cryptic selfie of an individual with curly hair—possibly the hacker—was uploaded with a caption echoing a famous line from the 2002 Spider-Man movie.
This hacking incident intriguingly aligned with the re-release of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man film in theaters on April 15, sparking varied fan reactions. Some fans expressed relief that Holland was not truly endorsing this crypto venture, while others humorously wished the hack had been a playful hint at a “Spider-Man 4.”
Despite the fake endorsements on Holland’s account, Marvel has indeed dabbled in legitimate NFT ventures. For example, in 2021, AMC and Sony Pictures offered NFTs to early buyers of tickets for “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” contributing to the film’s massive $1.9 billion box office success and a record-breaking sales day for AMC.
Moreover, in 2022, AMC Theatres began accepting meme cryptocurrencies like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu for online ticket purchases.
Additionally, New Zealand-based NFT firm VeVe has partnered with Marvel to issue Spider-Man NFTs, including a 1939 Marvel book NFT, and has also released NFT comics featuring Marvel characters such as Spider-Man and the X-Men, utilizing Ethereum technology.