According to Bloomberg, the X account of the Swiss blockchain network NEAR Protocol suddenly changed its name to "it's all a lie" on Wednesday night and published a series of posts calling cryptocurrency a "scam." Crypto traders believed that the account was hacked and waited for fraudulent information to appear, but it did not happen. A NEAR spokesperson said that the account was not hacked and that this move was a publicity strategy to attract attention.
NEAR's move is seen as out of place in the current environment of frequent hacking attacks, damaging its long-term credibility. Social media is often used for non-traditional marketing in the cryptocurrency field, but regulators are increasingly scrutinizing it.
NEAR's incident may serve as a lesson for future marketing for itself and other companies.
