Airbnb Inc. CEO Brian Chesky said on Thursday his X account was hacked earlier this week, resulting in posts promoting real-world asset tokenization. The unauthorized activity has raised concerns about the security of high-profile social media accounts used to influence financial markets.

Chesky addressed the incident directly in a new X post, stating, “To the person who hacked my account earlier this week: thanks for all the new crypto followers. To my new crypto followers: I’m going to be a very disappointing follow.” The hack began with a thread on his account discussing real-world asset tokenization, a topic Chesky had not previously posted about. The thread claimed that while much of the sector is “noise,” “something real” is happening underneath.

Context of the Incident

Prior to this event, Chesky’s account featured very few posts regarding cryptocurrency or tokenization. Benzinga contacted Airbnb to verify the current security status of Chesky’s account and confirm whether the CEO authored the recent update.

Broader Pattern of Attacks

This incident is part of a broader trend where hackers target prominent accounts to promote cryptocurrency projects. Recently, the official SpaceXAI and Starlink X accounts were compromised to aggressively promote a memecoin called SCATMAN. The attackers executed a rug pull after attracting investors, minting 10T SCATMAN and dumping it for 59 ETH ($108K). Another wallet controlled by the hacker sold 59.28M SCATMAN for 14.7 ETH ($27K).

Similarly, veteran investor Ross Gerber’s X account was compromised last year to promote a coin linked to Tesla.

Market Reaction

Following the news, Airbnb shares were down 0.26% in pre-market trading. The stock had closed 0.39% lower at $147.80 during Thursday’s regular trading session. According to Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, the stock continues to show strong short-, medium- and long-term price momentum.

Wedbush analyst Ygal Arounian has assumed coverage of Etsy (NYSE: ETSY) with a Neutral rating and announced a price target of $80. The initiation reflects a specific stance on the stock's near-term trajectory as the firm evaluates the company's current market position.

Analyst Rating and Target

The Neutral rating assigned by Wedbush indicates a balanced view of Etsy's potential risks and rewards. The price target of $80 serves as a benchmark for the stock's valuation over the coverage period.