Coin Market

Behind Elon Musk’s X outage: What really happened and why it matters

Published

2 weeks ago

March 14, 2025

What caused the X outage?

On March 10, 2025, X’s services went down for many users, causing frustration and confusion across the platform.

The outages were significant enough to make headlines and draw attention from the tech community and the media. Elon Musk, ever the outspoken owner, quickly attributed the disruptions to a “massive cyberattack.”

While the initial response was that the attack might have originated from a coordinated group or even a nation-state, Musk’s comments pointed to Ukrainian IP addresses as the suspected source. However, he later clarified that the evidence was not definitive.

Also, several cybersecurity experts emphasized that attributing the source of such attacks based solely on IP addresses is unreliable, as attackers often use compromised devices worldwide to mask their actual location.

So, what was the cause of X’s disruption?

It was a large-scale, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. Such attacks involve overwhelming a server with so much traffic that it cannot serve legitimate requests, effectively bringing down the platform. This attack is a common method for cybercriminals to take down websites and was the primary factor behind X’s downtime.

The technical side: How the DDoS attack impacted X

DDoS attacks are no small feat. These attacks flood the target’s servers with excessive traffic, rendering them unable to function correctly.

It’s a strategy designed to exhaust a system’s resources and make it impossible for genuine users to access the service. Experts pointed out that the attack on X was massive and well-coordinated, taking down parts of the platform for hours.

Here’s a timeline of the events on March 10:

Early morning (Eastern Time): Users began reporting issues accessing X, with over 21,000 reports in the US and 10,800 in the UK. 9:30 am ET: A second wave of outages occurred, with about 40,000 users reporting disruptions. This outage persisted into the afternoon.Throughout the day: Users continued to experience intermittent access issues, with reports peaking during critical periods such as the start of National Football League free agency.Evening: By 6:24 pm ET, the number of reported issues decreased significantly to 403 in the US and 200 in the UK, indicating that the platform was stabilizing.

Security experts noted that some of X’s origin servers had not been adequately protected behind Cloudflare’s DDoS defense systems. This created a vulnerability that cyber attackers could exploit, contributing to the success of the attack.

Did any individual or group claim responsibility?

Yes, in the aftermath of the attack, a pro-Palestinian hacker group known as Dark Storm Team claimed responsibility. This group has been active since late 2023 and is known for targeting organizations and governments perceived to support Israel. Their tactics often involve DDoS attacks to disrupt services and draw attention to their political motives.

While X took quick action to shore up these weaknesses, this incident served as a reminder that even the most prominent platforms are not immune to cyber threats if their security infrastructure isn’t up to the task.

Did you know? Cloudflare is renowned for its robust DDoS protection, having previously defended against some of the largest recorded attacks, including a 5.6 terabit per second assault in October 2024.

From fail whale to Musk’s era: Major X outages in history

Over the years, the platform has faced several high-profile outages caused by cyberattacks, internal errors and technical limitations.

In its early days, X (then Twitter) was notorious for frequent crashes, often displaying the now-iconic “fail whale” image to users. These outages were primarily due to the platform’s struggle to handle surges in traffic, particularly during major global events like elections, award shows and sports finals.

“Fail Whale” was Twitter’s old error message, showing a cartoon whale being lifted by birds. It appeared when Twitter was overloaded or crashed. It became a symbol of Twitter’s frequent outages, especially in its early days.

Notable incidents from Fail Whale to Musk’s X era include:

2016 Dyn DDoS attack: One of the most severe outages in X’s history occurred during the Dyn cyberattack in October 2016. This massive DDoS attack targeted a key internet infrastructure provider, taking down major websites, including X, Reddit and Spotify. The incident underscored the risks of centralized internet infrastructure.2020 API failures: In October 2020, a widespread outage due to internal system changes led to API failures. While not a cyberattack, the event demonstrated how a misconfiguration could bring down the platform for hours.2022 takeover disruptions: Following Elon Musk’s acquisition in late 2022, several outages occurred due to mass layoffs affecting critical engineering teams. Reduced staffing raised concerns about the platform’s ability to maintain reliability.2023 rate limit issues: In July 2023, X imposed strict rate limits on users due to excessive data scraping. This decision led to widespread service disruptions, with many users unable to load tweets.

Did you know? The US Treasury is being sued for allegedly giving Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to millions of Americans’ sensitive financial and personal data. The lawsuit, filed by the AFL-CIO, claims this access violates federal laws and raises significant privacy concerns. Lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, have warned that Musk’s involvement could lead to unprecedented data misuse.

The growing importance of social media security

The X outage highlights the growing concern about social media security in today’s digital world. Platforms like X, Meta and Instagram have become crucial communication channels for individuals, businesses, governments and activists. Even X has become a hub for the crypto community, serving as a central platform for discussions, updates, and networking within the industry. However, these platforms are increasingly under threat from cyberattacks, misinformation campaigns and data breaches.

Here are some key areas where social media security is essential:

Protecting user data: With millions of users actively posting, messaging and storing sensitive data, social media platforms are prime targets for hackers. Personal information, including emails, phone numbers and even financial data, can be compromised if security measures are weak.Enhancing user authentication: Stronger authentication methods, such as multifactor authentication (MFA), biometric logins and encrypted messaging, can reduce the risk of unauthorized access. Users should be encouraged to enable MFA to add an extra layer of security to their accounts.Fighting disinformation and fake accounts: Cyberattacks aren’t always about taking down a platform; sometimes, they aim to manipulate public perception. Fake accounts, bots and misinformation campaigns can create chaos, influence elections and spread propaganda. Social media companies must use advanced AI tools to proactively detect and remove such threats.Preventing DDoS and cyberattacks: As seen in the case of X, DDoS attacks can cripple a platform. While companies invest heavily in cybersecurity, hackers continue to evolve their tactics. This calls for constant vigilance and AI-driven security systems to detect and mitigate threats in real-time.Regular security audits and updates: Cybersecurity is an ongoing process. Social media companies must conduct regular security audits to identify and patch vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. Keeping systems updated ensures that the latest security measures are in place.

Finally, as you continue to integrate social media into various aspects of your lives, prioritizing security will ensure that these platforms remain trusted and reliable channels for communication and engagement.

Coin Market

Ghibli memecoins surge as internet flooded with Studio Ghibli-style AI images

Published

28 minutes ago

March 27, 2025

Solana Ghibli-inspired memecoins are surging in popularity as ChatGPT users have flooded social media with Studio Ghibli-inspired images over the past 24 hours.

On March 25, OpenAI launched image generation for its ChatGPT-4o mode, leading users to splash images across social media style in the art style of Studio Ghibli — known for its anime films Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk contributed to the trend, posting portraits of themselves generated by the model. Musk, with over 219 million followers on his platform X, has a history of influencing memecoins such as Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) with his posts.

Sam Altman posted a Studio Ghibli-inspired AI image while announcing ChatGPT’s image generation tool. Source: Sam Altman

Neither Musk nor Altman mentioned any Ghibli-themed memecoin. Still, the largest Ghibli-themed token by market cap, Ghiblification (GHIBLI) has reached a market cap of $20.80 million since it went live 19 hours ago, according to DEX Screener.

At the time of publication, it is trading at $0.02083, up approximately 39,010% since it was created.

The Solana-based memecoin Ghibli has climbed by nearly 40,000% since it launched on March 26. Source: DEX Screener

At least 20 other Ghibli-related memecoins have been created since. Some crypto traders see it as a potential sign of life for the memecoin market, which has dropped 57% in value since Dec. 8 — just days after Bitcoin first hit $100,000.

Crypto trader Sachs said in a March 26 X post that he is praying the memecoin “runs to $100M to bring some hopes into these markets.”

“Severely needed,” Sachs added.

It follows the recent trend of memecoins sparking out of cultural references and movements. The CHILLGUY token launched on Nov. 15 on the Solana blockchain, riding the wave of the viral “Just a chill guy” meme that gained popularity on social media.

CHILLGUY’s value surged, reaching a peak market capitalization of $643 million by Nov. 27.

However, investing in memecoins tied to daily trends comes with significant risk. CHILLGUY is down 95% from its November high, according to CoinMarketCap data.

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This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Coin Market

DeFi’s yield model is broken — Here’s how we fix it

Published

28 minutes ago

March 27, 2025

Opinion by: Marc Boiron, chief executive officer of Polygon Labs

Decentralized finance (DeFi) needs a reality check. Protocols have chased growth through token emissions that promise eye-popping annual percentage yields (APYs) for years, only to watch liquidity evaporate when incentives dry up. The current state of DeFi is too driven by mercenary capital, which is creating artificial ecosystems doomed to collapse.

The industry has been caught in a destructive cycle: Launch a governance token, distribute it generously to liquidity providers to boost total value locked (TVL), celebrate growth metrics, and watch helplessly as yield farmers withdraw their capital and move to the next hot protocol. This model doesn’t build lasting value — it creates temporary illusions of success.

DeFi deserves a better approach to value creation and capital efficiency. The current emission-driven yield model has three fatal flaws that continue to undermine the industry’s potential.

Inflationary emissions

Most yield in DeFi comes from inflationary token emissions rather than sustainable revenue. When protocols distribute native tokens as rewards, they dilute their token value to subsidize short-term growth. This creates an unsustainable dynamic where early participants extract value while later users are stuck holding devalued assets.

Capital flight

Mercenary capital dominates DeFi liquidity. Without structural incentives for long-term commitment, capital moves freely to whatever protocol offers the highest temporary yield. This liquidity isn’t loyal — it follows opportunistic paths rather than fundamental value, leaving protocols vulnerable to sudden capital flight.

Misaligned incentives

Misaligned incentives prevent protocols from building sustainable treasuries. When governance tokens are primarily used to attract liquidity through emissions, protocols fail to capture value for themselves, making investing in long-term development and security impossible.

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These problems have played out repeatedly across multiple DeFi cycles. The “DeFi summer” of 2020, the yield farming boom of 2021 and subsequent crashes all show the same pattern: unsustainable growth followed by devastating contractions.

Protocol-owned liquidity

How can this be fixed? The solution requires shifting from extractive to regenerative economic models, and protocol-owned liquidity represents one of the most promising approaches to solving this problem. Rather than renting liquidity through emissions, protocols can build permanent capital bases that generate sustainable returns.

When protocols own their liquidity, they gain multiple advantages. They become resistant to capital flight during market downturns. They can generate consistent fee revenue that flows back to the protocol rather than temporary liquidity providers. Most importantly, they can create sustainable yield derived from actual economic activity rather than token inflation.

Use bridged assets to generate yield

Staking bridged assets offers another path toward sustainability. Usually, bridged assets just sit there and don’t contribute much toward the liquidity potential of connected blockchains. Through staking the bridge, assets in the bridge are redeployed into low-risk, yield-bearing strategies on Ethereum, which are used to bankroll boosted yields. This allows protocols to align participant incentives with long-term health, and it’s a boost to capital efficiency.

For DeFi to mature, protocols must prioritize real yield — returns generated from actual revenue rather than token emissions. This means developing products and services that create genuine user value and capture a portion of that value for the protocol and its long-term stakeholders.

While sustainable yield models typically produce lower initial returns than emissions-based approaches, these returns are sustainable. Protocols embracing this shift will build resilient foundations rather than chasing vanity metrics.

The alternative is continuing a cycle of boom-and-bust that undermines credibility and prevents mainstream adoption. DeFi cannot fulfill its promise of revolutionizing finance while relying on unsustainable economic models.

The protocols that do this will amass treasuries designed to weather market cycles rather than deplete during downturns. They’ll generate a yield from providing real utility rather than printing tokens.

This evolution requires a collective mindset shift from DeFi participants. Investors need to recognize the difference between sustainable and unsustainable yield. Builders need to design tokenomics that reward long-term alignment rather than short-term speculation. Users need to understand the true source of their returns.

The future of DeFi depends on getting these fundamentals right. It’s time to fix our broken yield model before we repeat the mistakes of the past.

Opinion by: Marc Boiron, chief executive officer of Polygon Labs.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Coin Market

Robinhood offers to Uber cash to customers and have AI give trading advice

Published

1 hour ago

March 27, 2025

Trading platform Robinhood Markets plans to offer a service that delivers cash to its customers alongside an artificial intelligence research assistant that offers trading advice.

The company said in a March 27 blog post that its online banking arm, Robinhood Banking, will offer savings accounts to its Gold subscribers through its partner Coastal Community Bank and will be given the option to have physical cash delivered on demand.

“You could be sitting at home and decide to get a cash delivery the same way you’d want to order an Uber or a Postmates,” Robinhood Markets CEO Vlad Tenev said during a livestream

He added there are already home delivery services for groceries and meals, but banking still “hasn’t progressed that much past the branch office and the ATM.”

https://t.co/oGJ630tmI2

— Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) March 27, 2025

“In the past, cash delivery was a service that some private bankers offered to their high-end customers. It wouldn’t work exactly like this, though. The cash would be a much larger amount and would usually make its way to you in an armored vehicle,” he said.

The service terms and conditions state that the delivery service coverage is based on geographic location and that travel routes may be limited without mentioning who the drivers are or how they’re selected.

Robinhood’s concept for its planned cash delivery service. Source: Robinhood

The firm also has plans for a platform called Robinhood Strategies, offering a mix of single stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Later this year, the firm said it will launch an AI-powered research assistant called Cortex for its $5 a month Gold subscribers that can provide analyses and insights about market trends and stocks to consider trading.

Tenev said the firm spoke to traders about what would give them a better edge in stock trading and then spent two years developing Cortex, keeping their feedback in mind.

Robinhood product management vice president Abhishek Fatehpuria added that the firm is looking to bring cryptocurrencies to the platform at some point in the future.

Robinhood has been expanding its footprint in emerging asset classes, including crypto and derivatives.

The platform launched a prediction betting markets hub on March 17, which sent its stock surging by 8%.

Robinhood Markets (HOOD) closed the March 26 trading day down 7.1% at $44.73, which continued to fall an additional 2.84% after hours, according to Google Finance.

On March 13, the company listed memecoins like Pengu (PENGU), Pnut (PNUT) and Popcat (POPCAT) in a bid to expand its presence in crypto. In January, it rolled out futures contracts tied to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC).

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