NEAR Protocol’s X account, boasting over 1.9 million followers, has been spreading encrypted messages in the past few hours, sparking concern within the community.
The first encrypted message appeared on NEAR Protocol’s X page at 18:18 UTC on May 8. Deciphering the message, which resembles Morse code, reveals the ominous phrase “Darkness is coming.”
Despite the unsettling nature of the message, Yadira Blocker, NEAR Foundation’s marketing and events lead, responded to the encrypted audio with a cryptic remark: “Something is cooking.”
In another post on X, Blocker hinted at an upcoming development by stating, “Alpha is coming.”
Additionally, NEAR Protocol’s X account shared several posts in Zalgo text—a glitch-styled text format often associated with hacker activity and breaches. The most recent four posts from the official NEAR Protocol page read:
- The sun rises in the east.
- Take back your thoughts.
- Darkness.
- Reclaim your sovereignty.
While some users of X speculate that the NEAR Protocol X account may have been compromised, the company has not issued any official notices or warnings. NEAR Foundation has also remained silent regarding the encrypted messages.
This incident follows similar hacks, such as the compromise of Spider-Man actor Tom Holland’s X account to promote the SPIDER crypto scam token, and the breach of Trezor’s X account on March 20, where hackers promoted a fraudulent Solana-based cryptocurrency named TRZR.
Summary Review: NEAR Protocol’s X account, with its substantial following, has been compromised, leading to the dissemination of encrypted messages that have unsettled the community. Despite the ominous tone of these messages, NEAR Foundation has not provided any official statements or alerts regarding the situation. The incident echoes previous hacks targeting prominent individuals and organizations, such as the compromise of Tom Holland’s X account to promote a crypto scam and the breach of Trezor’s X account to endorse a fraudulent cryptocurrency. This underscores the importance of heightened security measures in the crypto space and serves as a reminder for users to remain vigilant against potential threats.
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