Airbnb boss says X account was hacked after crypto posts vanish
Brian Chesky said his X account was hacked after posts about tokenizing real-world assets drew online criticism and were deleted.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
2 min read
Brian Chesky’s unexpected crypto turn on X has now been pinned on a hack, according to MarketWatch.
The Airbnb co-founder and chief executive said Thursday on X that his account had been compromised earlier in the week, after posts attributed to him discussed the tokenization of real-world assets and drew pushback from online commentators, MarketWatch reported.
“To the person who hacked my account earlier this week: thanks for all the new crypto followers,” Chesky wrote in a post cited by MarketWatch. “To my new crypto followers: I’m going to be a very disappointing follow.”
The earlier posts, which MarketWatch said were later deleted, appeared Tuesday on Chesky’s X account. They set out a favorable view of tokenization, a crypto-linked approach that lets investors buy pieces of an asset rather than the whole thing.
MarketWatch reported that the posts described blockchain as a way to reduce hurdles in ownership and investing. The comments attributed to the account said tokenization could make settlement immediate, allow fractional investing and create markets that operate around the clock through decentralized systems.
One line in the deleted posts compared the idea to the internet’s effect on information, saying: “The internet made information liquid. This makes ownership liquid.”
The comments were attached to video of Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev speaking on CNBC about tokenization, according to MarketWatch. Robinhood shares were shown down 8.24% in the MarketWatch report.
The posts quickly got a rough reception online. MarketWatch reported that commentators challenged the conclusions in the posts and accused the account of publishing “AI slop.”
Tokenization has become a buzzy corner of the blockchain world because it promises to put assets on digital ledgers in a form that can be traded in smaller pieces. MarketWatch described the theory behind blockchain hosting as a system that can handle payment, settlement, transfer of ownership and custody on a digital ledger.
In this case, the drama was less about a new Airbnb strategy and more about who was actually typing from Chesky’s account. Chesky’s Thursday post said the account had been hacked, and the comments about tokenization were removed, according to MarketWatch.
MarketWatch noted one unusual feature of the incident: the posts on Chesky’s account did not promote a specific service, unlike many social-media hacks.
Chesky is one of Airbnb’s co-founders and serves as its chief executive. MarketWatch also described him as one of the world’s richest people.
This story draws on original reporting from MarketWatch.