Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky Confirms X Account Hacked to Promote Asset Tokenization

Published Jul 17, 10:38 AM UTC

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky confirmed on July 16, 2026, that his X (formerly Twitter) account was hacked earlier that week. The hacker posted a thread promoting real-world asset tokenization, a topic Chesky had never previously discussed publicly. In a subsequent post, Chesky thanked the hacker for the new crypto followers but warned he would be a 'very disappointing follow' for them. The article notes that such hacks targeting high-profile individuals to promote cryptocurrency projects are common, citing recent examples including the hijacking of SpaceXAI and Starlink accounts to promote a memecoin called SCATMAN, which resulted in a rug pull, and a 2025 hack of investor Ross Gerber's account to promote a Tesla-linked coin. Airbnb shares were down slightly in pre-market trading following the incident.