Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev’s X Account Hacked to Promote Fake Memecoin

A now-deleted post from Tenev’s compromised account touted a fake token called $VLAD and claimed a Robinhood listing amid a memecoin frenzy on Robinhood Chain.

Original Image Credit: TechCrunch, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Posted July 24, 2026 at 5:58 am EST.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev‘s X account was compromised on Thursday and used to shill a fake memecoin, just as the brokerage’s new blockchain has become a magnet for speculative token trading.

The now-deleted post introduced a token called Vladhood, or $VLAD, as the “official Robinhood chain mascot,” claiming it would be listed in the Robinhood app. “Does Robinhood love memes? The answer is yes,” the post read.

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Robinhood later addressed the memecoin promotion through its communications account on X, saying, “Our CEO Vlad Tenev’s X account was compromised and posted a fake promotion for a meme coin.”

Tenev regained control and posted a follow-up saying he was “back” and awaiting details from X on what happened. “In case it wasn’t clear, Robinhood has not issued any coins or tokens. Stay safe out there,” he wrote.

The hack landed amid a frenzy on Robinhood’s own network. Since launching its public mainnet earlier this month Robinhood Chain has attracted more than $700 million in assets, according to a Dune dashboard from Entropy Advisors. The network has also surpassed 300,000 daily active addresses and processed roughly 10 million transactions in a single day, spurred by and fueling a wave of memecoins trying to ride its popularity.

AI-assisted content: This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a member of the Unchained editorial team before publication.