Ramazan Eles 
The launch of Wormhole’s W token garnered significant attention, attracting scammers who spread phishing links.
The individual responsible for the notorious hack incident that resulted in the theft of over 80,000 ETH from Wormhole in 2022 briefly found themselves eligible to receive an undisclosed amount of airdropped W tokens, according to pseudonymous blockchain researcher Pland.
In a social media post on X, Pland humorously remarked:
“Wormhole forgot to exclude the exploiter from the airdrop.”
Degen News verified the discovery, revealing that four Solana wallets linked to the hacker could claim $52,700 worth of W tokens.
Austin Federa, head of strategy at Solana Foundation, found humor in the situation, commenting:
“This is actually an incredible commitment to protocol neutrality.”
However, news of this incident prompted widespread community scrutiny, leading the Wormhole team to revoke eligibility for these addresses. CryptoSlate confirmed the exclusion of these addresses through the Airdrop Checker website.
Wormhole Airdrop
The interoperability protocol Wormhole launched its native W token on April 3, receiving widespread acclaim from the crypto community.
The event also attracted attention from malicious actors spreading phishing links related to the event.
Blockchain sleuth ZachXBT revealed the presence of “tons of accounts with gold checkmarks in the replies posting phishing scams.”
Similarly, web3 security firm Scam Sniffer reported that its extension tool “alerted users to as many as 18 fake accounts related” to Wormhole, adding that over 100 phishing sites linked to Wormhole have been added to their blocklist.
“Every airdrop presents a prime opportunity for scammers. Stay alert and protect your assets,” Scam Sniffer advised.
W Down 25%
Meanwhile, the value of W experienced a significant decline of over 25% during its first 24 hours of trading as claimers from the airdrop cashed in on their assets.
According to CoinMarketCap data, the digital asset’s value surged to as high as $1.59 before sharply dropping to $1.15 as of press time.
Despite the decrease, several major exchanges, including Binance and OKX, have listed W on their platforms, propelling its trading volume into the top 10 of the most traded assets in the past day.