"Breaking Bad Star's X Account Hacked Again, Promoting Fake Memecoin DEAN"

Breaking Bad star Dean Norris' X account was recently hacked, with the perpetrators using it to promote a fraudulent memecoin called DEAN. Norris, known for his role as Hank Schrader in the hit TV series, took to his account on January 26 to denounce the scheme, stating that the memecoin was a "complete, fake scam." He also blasted Reddit users who had criticized him for the incident.

The hackers had posted a doctored photo of Norris holding a piece of paper with the ticker DEAN and its launch date. They also shared a video of Norris saying, "Hey, it's me, Dean, and on January 25th, I'm declaring it's real," which was manipulated to make it appear as if he was endorsing the coin's legitimacy. Some users on Reddit speculated that the video could have been a deepfake or a paid video taken out of context, as Norris is active on Cameo, a platform where users can pay celebrities for customized videos.

According to blockchain data tracker DexScreener, DEAN's market cap spiked to around $8.43 million on January 25 but has since collapsed to under $60,000. The memecoin's price has also crashed by over 96%. Norris later stated that he doesn't have a Telegram account and rarely uses X, and that he only became aware of the hack when friends started contacting him about it.

This is the second time Norris' account has been hacked to promote a cryptocurrency scheme. In November, onchain sleuth ZachXBT reported that a project associated with a former pro Fortnite player was connected to multiple account takeovers, including McDonald's, Usher, and Dean Norris. The incident comes after President Donald Trump's launch of a memecoin on January 18 sparked a trading frenzy, sending the coin to a market capitalization of nearly $9 billion a few hours after its launch.