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Election 2024

No, the Twitter Hack Wasn't About Bitcoin

The motivations and implications of a hack that had everyone from Coinbase to Kanye shilling a scam for bitcoin.

By Nathaniel Whittemore
AccessTimeIconJul 16, 2020 at 7:12 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 19, 2021 at 3:10 a.m. UTC
Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto
breakdown-7-16

The motivations and implications of a Twitter hack that had everyone from Coinbase to Kanye shilling a scam for bitcoin. 

For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.

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    • This episode is sponsored by Bitstamp and Crypto.com.

    Today on the Brief:

    • Adjustment to bank profits in anticipation of growing debt delinquency 
    • The lowest decrease in jobless claims since March 
    • A boost in retail spending 

    The Great Twitter Hack

    Expert commentary provided by Dr. Tom Robinson, chief scientist and co-founder of Elliptic

    Wednesday, at around 2:15 p.m. EDT, prominent Crypto Twitter accounts started sharing a similar message about a bitcoin giveaway. A couple of hours later, Elon Musk and Bill Gates were saying they were feeling generous and wanting to give bitcoin away. A couple more hours and every verified blue check mark account on Twitter was taken down.  It's the great Twitter hack of 2020.

    It was an attack with massive implications, if not much monetary gain. 

    On this episode NLW breaks down:

    • What happened
    • Which accounts were impacted
    • How much BTC was transferred 
    • The narrative battle of “bitcoin scam” vs. “Twitter hack”
    • Why it might have been a state-sponsored attack
    • Why the real intention might have been to discredit Twitter 
    • Why the (supposed) revelations about Twitter’s administrative tools could end up in a congressional inquiry 

    Find our guest online:

    Elliptic website: Elliptic.co 

    Twitter: @tomrobin

    For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, iHeartRadio or RSS.

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    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.

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