Allegations of Ticker Manipulation Emerge Amidst Cashtag Rollout
X Product Lead Nikita Bier faces accusations of manipulating the $SHITCOIN ticker within the platform’s recently launched Cashtag feature. Users claim an existing or intended token associated with $SHITCOIN was replaced with an alternative, described as a “bundled rug scam,” reportedly leading to mistaken investments.
The Cashtag feature, central to X’s Web3 strategy spearheaded by Bier, aims to integrate real-time financial data, including crypto and stock prices, directly into the X timeline. Bier, also an advisor to Solana, has outlined X's ambition to become a Web3 asset gateway, making money native to the platform. The feature, rolled out in the U.S. and Canada for iPhone users, allows inputs like $BTC or contract addresses to display interactive charts and related posts.
Specific concerns arose from user reports detailing that inputting $SHITCOIN into X’s search or post functions yielded only one particular coin. One user explicitly stated they invested in this displayed token, asserting its association was “coded literally” to Bier. The initial social reaction to this accusation registered a negative sentiment score of -95, reflecting community alarm over the Cashtag system's integrity.
As of now, these accusations remain public, with the alleged scam token still appearing as the sole asset for $SHITCOIN. There has been no public information detailing an official response from X or Nikita Bier. A user's subsequent report detailing their investment into the alleged scam token carried a sentiment score of 19, a low positive score despite the negative investment outcome. Broader sentiment towards X's crypto features is mixed. While some expressed positive sentiment for the Cashtag rollout (e.g., scores of 64 for X as a Web3 gateway, 59 for X as a financial terminal), others described the overall rollout as "pissing everybody off," attributing this sentiment to Bier, with an associated score of -82.