Despite what politicians, billionaires, and brands are tweeting, no one is trying to give back to the community by doubling Bitcoin you send over. The repetitive tweet is all part of a massive hack with unclear origins — and it's seemingly out of control.
Starting Wednesday afternoon, accounts belonging to Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Kanye West and others sent out a Bitcoin transaction address, promising any amount sent to it would be doubled and sent back. The hack soon spread to former Vice President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, and then, after initial tweets were deleted, another round poured onto many of the same accounts.
The hackers' Bitcoin wallet showed they'd received more than 300 transactions and more than 100,000 bitcoin as of 6 p.m. ET, though those transactions were largely unconfirmed.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It took Twitter an hour to respond to the mass hacking, and it didn't really say much. Kathryn Krawczyk
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
The week’s best photojournalismIn Pictures A steaming volcano, a giant crater and more
-
Texas and Yelp are suing each other over crisis pregnancy centers
Talking Point A battle over free speech and abortion rights heads to court
-
Dianne Feinstein, history-making Democratic US senator, dies at 90
The Explainer Her colleagues celebrate her legacy as a trailblazer who cleared the path for other women to follow
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
