Recently, the Instagram account of renowned actor Tom Holland fell victim to a hacking scheme. The hackers took advantage of his massive following of over 7 million followers to push a fraudulent cryptocurrency and NFT project. By impersonating Holland, the attackers announced a fictitious partnership with the well-known crypto exchange Binance, promoting the launch of “Spiderverse” tokens. The fraudulent scheme included a link to a sham website, luring unsuspecting users to participate in the fake SPIDER cryptocurrency and Spiderverse NFTs.
In the wake of the security breach, alterations were made to Holland’s bio on his Instagram profile, incorporating a link to the bogus partnership website. Furthermore, a peculiar selfie of an unidentified individual, potentially the hacker, was posted on the actor’s account alongside a caption alluding to a classic scene from the original Spider-Man movie. While the rogue post was initially pinned to the profile, it has since been removed. The timing of the hack, coinciding with the re-release of Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spider-Man film in select cinemas on April 15, added an extra element of mystery to the incident.
The breach elicited a range of responses from fans, with some expressing relief that Holland was not genuinely endorsing the crypto scam, while others made light-hearted jokes about the situation. One user humorously lamented the missed opportunity to faux tease “Spider-Man 4,” while another was grateful that their beloved web-slinger was not entangled in a crypto scheme. Despite the fake promotion of “Spiderverse,” it is worth noting that Marvel has previously dabbled in the cryptocurrency realm.
In late 2021, AMC partnered with Sony Pictures to offer NFTs to early ticket purchasers of Holland’s blockbuster film “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” This innovative approach significantly contributed to the movie’s staggering success, raking in over $1.9 billion and breaking records for AMC’s one-day ticket sales. Additionally, AMC Theatres enabled patrons to use popular meme coins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu for online ticket transactions in 2022. Collaborating with Marvel, New Zealand-based NFT company VeVe rolled out Spider-Man NFTs, including the inaugural Marvel comic book from 1939. VeVe further expanded its offerings with NFT comics showcasing iconic Marvel superheroes such as Spider-Man and the X-Men, fueled by cutting-edge Ethereum technology.