In a serious escalation of cyber extortion incidents in the crypto world, Raj Gokal, co-founder of the “Solana” project, was subjected to public defamation and extortion after the Instagram account of the famous American hip-hop group “Migos” was hacked early Monday, May 27.
The hackers posted, via the hacked account followed by more than 13 million people, a series of images showing Gokal holding his passport and driver's license without any disguise, alongside a photo allegedly of his wife holding her personal license. One of the images was accompanied by a direct threat demanding a ransom of 40 Bitcoin (about 4.3 million dollars), stating: “You should have paid the 40 Bitcoin,” referring to Gokal's personal account.
The hackers also posted sensitive information including Gokal's phone number and urged followers to “flood him with messages,” in a move described by specialists as a coordinated smear attack aimed at harming the victim personally and professionally.
This incident comes days after Gokal warned via platform X of ongoing attempts to hack his online accounts, stating: “If you see suspicious posts about launching tokens or raising funds, know that my accounts may have been hacked.”