A trader lost over $1 million after buying a fake Kylian Mbappe token following the hack of the French soccer star’s X account. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was released on $5.5 million bail after being indicted on criminal charges related to his role at Telegram. Meanwhile, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea received a Wells notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Trader loses $1m in scam after Kylian Mbappe’s X account was hacked
A trader recently lost over $1 million on a fraudulent Mbappe token, highlighting the ongoing risks associated with celebrity-linked cryptocurrencies.
Unknown Trader Spent Over $1 Million on Solana 
SOLUSD tokens to purchase the fake Kylian Mbappé token (MBAPPE), according to a Lookonchain X post on August 29.
The onchain intelligence company wrote:
“Someone created a new wallet and spent $7,156 SOL ($1.03M) to buy a #MEMEcoin named $MBAPPE in a single transaction, which is now worth only $9.2K. This person lost over $1 million in just 1 hour!”
The $1 million loss is the latest devastating event related to celebrity-linked crypto scams. Earlier in August, TrumpCoin (DJT), a memecoin featuring President Trump, saw a 95% drop amid a broader cryptocurrency market downturn.
Telegram CEO charged and released, banned from leaving France
Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram, has been released from custody after being charged by French authorities and placed under judicial supervision after appearing in court.
According to a Bloomberg report on August 28, French prosecutors said they had charged Durov with criminal charges related to his role at Telegram. He was banned from leaving France and had to post a €5 million bail before he could be released.
A video widely shared by Russia’s state-run news agency RIA Novosti shows Durov walking free from a Paris courthouse on August 28.
Police handed Durov over to court after he was arrested at an airport north of Paris on August 24.
After his arrest, prosecutors said the Telegram founder was being held in connection with a criminal investigation opened in July “against an unidentified person.”
The charges included aiding and abetting illegal activities, failure to report to authorities, money laundering, criminal conspiracy and providing cryptology services without prior notification.
OpenSea Receives SEC Wells Notice
OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer revealed that the NFT marketplace received a Wells Notice from the SEC, signaling potential enforcement action.
According to an Aug. 28 social media post, Finzer said the SEC alleges that OpenSea facilitated the trading of unregistered securities on its platform.
“This is a step into uncharted territory,” Finzer said. “By targeting NFTs, the SEC would stifle innovation on an even larger scale: hundreds of thousands of artists and online creators are at risk, and many don’t have the resources to defend themselves.”
The securities regulator has issued several Wells notices to cryptocurrency companies, warning them of potential enforcement actions related to alleged securities law violations. Several cases are ongoing despite a recent Supreme Court opinion that could limit the SEC’s ability to take regulatory action against cryptocurrency companies.
