Robinhood CEO's Hacked X Account Used to Promote Fake Token

On July 23, 2026, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev's X account was compromised and used to promote a fake VLAD token under the ticker VLAD.

The post presented VLAD as the official Robinhood Chain mascot and falsely claimed that Robinhood would list it in its trading app.

Roger Ver, the creator of VLAD, began claiming trading fees seven minutes after the post, collecting about 31.6 ETH worth approximately $59,000, plus 72 million VLAD tokens representing around 7% of supply, according to The Defiant's Blockscout review.

The operation combined a trusted distribution channel with a launchpad design that kept the token tradable while sending fees to its creator.