A fake memecoin called "Official" Saudi Arabia (KSA) has appeared, exploiting the reputation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to defraud investors.
A sophisticated cryptocurrency fraud has exploited the name of Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman to issue a fake memecoin, in order to attract capital from inexperienced investors in the context of the hot memecoin market.
This cryptocurrency, called the "Official" Saudi Arabia memecoin (KSA), was announced on February 17 through a post on the social media platform X from the account "SaudiLawConf". However, this account was later confirmed to be fake, with no official connection to the Saudi Arabian government.
The Saudi Law Conference, the actual owner of the X account "SaudiLawConf", quickly came forward to confirm that their account had been hacked and taken over. Through a post on LinkedIn on February 17, they stated that all content posted from the compromised account did not reflect the official views or direction of the organization.
Potential Risks of Celebrity-Backed Memecoins
This incident occurred just a few days after the collapse of the Libra (LIBRA) memecoin, which was promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei. The LIBRA token lost more than 94% of its value within a few hours after internal wallets withdrew $107 million in liquidation from the project on February 15. Both of these events highlight the significant risks associated with memecoins backed by celebrities, where investor trust is often based more on the reputation of the promoter than the actual value of the project.
Blockchain expert Anndy Lian advises investors to conduct thorough due diligence before investing in any cryptocurrency project, especially memecoins. He emphasizes the importance of verifying the development team, the transparency of the project, and the real-world utility of the token. According to him, anonymity or lack of transparent information is a clear sign of a fraudulent project.
The fact that the KSA token's smart contract was deployed on the blockchain on February 10, a week before the official announcement was made through the Solana-based memecoin launchpad Pump.fun, further raises suspicions about the project's transparency. Despite the manipulation efforts, the KSA token has not attracted significant capital, with a market capitalization of only $7,489, according to data from Pump.fun.
Retail investor interest in celebrity-backed memecoins has increased significantly since the launch of the Official Trump (TRUMP) token by former U.S. President Donald Trump on January 18, followed by the Melania Meme (MELANIA) token of First Lady Melania Trump on January 19. However, the performance of these memecoins has been poorer compared to the overall cryptocurrency market. The TRUMP token has declined more than 76% from its peak, while the MELANIA token has lost over 90% of its value. Similarly, the Libra token has dropped more than 92% from its all-time high of $4.56 recorded on February 15.
