Vladhood ($VLAD) Memecoin Scam
Summary
On July 23, 2026, unknown attackers compromised the verified X account of Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev and used it to promote a fraudulent memecoin called Vladhood ($VLAD), falsely presenting it as the official mascot of the Robinhood Chain network and claiming it would be listed in the Robinhood app. The token had been pre-deployed on the Pons launchpad 46 minutes before the post appeared, and attackers extracted approximately 650 ETH ($1.2–$1.3 million USD) through trading fee collection rather than a traditional rug pull. No attacker attribution or law enforcement action had been publicly reported as of late July 2026.
Connected Entities
1 entities · 10 linked investigationsTimeline(8 events)
2026-07-01
Robinhood Chain mainnet launches as an Arbitrum Orbit-based Ethereum Layer 2 network, rapidly attracting memecoin speculation.
CoinDesk2026-07-16
Memecoin launchpad Vlad.fun halts operations on Robinhood Chain, citing a 'serious internal integrity issue' involving team members.
CoinTelegraph2026-07-23
VLAD token contract (0x92d176ccBeEffeCd8089e841D09ea17b6C22D969) deployed via PonsLaunchFactory on Robinhood Chain, approximately 46 minutes before the fraudulent X post. Token metadata lists Vlad Tenev's X profile as the official website, indicating the account was already compromised.
CoinEdition / crypto.news2026-07-23
At approximately 17:24 UTC, the compromised X account of Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev posts fraudulent promotion for Vladhood ($VLAD), calling it the 'official Robinhood chain mascot' and claiming it will be listed in the Robinhood app.
CoinDesk2026-07-23
Post accumulates over 175,000 views within approximately 20 minutes. Trading volume on the VLAD token surges to over $22 million with approximately 85,000 swaps.
The Block / CoinPedia2026-07-23
Robinhood confirms the compromise via its communications X account. The fraudulent post is removed. Robinhood Chain explorer labels the contract as a 'potential scam.'
Decrypt / CryptoTimes2026-07-23
Token reaches an estimated $10 million fully diluted market capitalization at peak before declining. On-chain monitors report approximately 650 ETH ($1.2–1.3 million) extracted by attacker wallets via Pons fee-collection calls.
crypto.news / The Defiant2026-07-24
HOOD stock (Robinhood Markets, Inc.) declines on the trading day following the hack; reports cite declines ranging from 2.78% to 6.57%.
The Coin Republic / BenzingaDecision Log
- #1publish⛓ pending7/26/2026, 5:17:06 PMhash: E68XiEVBVCinSJ9hTWiXVX6bCdUYUczQ8hBA6kYhutQK
0 of 16 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-6
generated: 7/26/2026, 5:16:57 PM
last updated: 7/26/2026, 5:17:06 PM
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