Lionel Messi’s Instagram Story Spikes WATER Meme Coin Amid Hack Speculations

Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi joined the list of celebrities who have promoted meme coins through their social media accounts. However, some believe that the football legend’s Instagram account was hacked to promote a Solana meme coin—WATER.

In recent weeks, celebrity social media accounts with millions of followers have suffered hacks, such as those of Metallica and the American rapper 50 Cent. However, they do not outnumber Lionel Messi, with 504 million followers on Instagram alone.

WATER Meme Coin Skyrockets After Messi’s Post

On Monday, Lionel Messi posted a story themed around the WATER meme coin. He also tagged the Instagram page of the meme coin on his story. The Instagram story could be confusing because Messi usually promotes green projects.

The publication has not been removed until July 9, and the footballer has not reported that the Instagram account is compromised. However, fans believe that hackers must have taken control of Messi’s Instagram account.

Read more: Crypto Scam Projects: How To Spot Fake Tokens

Some believe that Messi must not be aware of the hack because he is close to facing Canada (from Argentina) in the Copa América.

While it is not clear if Messi’s Instagram account was hacked, many are disappointed that the football legend promoted a meme coin. The crypto community also speculates that the team behind the BEER meme coin has launched WATER.

“Messi just did a paid Instagram sponsor and shilled an illiquid $25 million market capitalization meme that a nutritious Dubai scam group created to his 500 million Instagram followers. Damn, this man used to be my GOAT,” Golden Deged expressed his frustration.

Moreover, there are other red flags with the WATER meme coin. On-chain analysis platform Bubblemaps reported that insiders control 30% of WATER’s supply.

Nonetheless, after Messi’s Instagram post, the WATER meme coin soared from $ 0.0003188 to $0.001501.

Read more: 11 Top Solana Meme Coins to Watch in July 2024

According to data from GeckoTerminal, the WATER meme coin is still up by around 193%. However, it is down by around 41% from Monday’s highs.