Talk about falling prey to the digital age. Shockingly, NASCAR faced an awful breach of intelligence on social media. What is more jaw-dropping is that another American sport, the NBA, also got caught up in it.

Being a multi-billion dollar sport comes with a heavy image. With the global spotlight on NASCAR, the onus on its social media activities has become heavier. That is why it was a slap on the sanctioning body’s face when a recent social media post was released from its account without any intention.

An online nightmare descends on NASCAR

An odd message about investing in a NASCAR-themed cryptocurrency attracted fans’ attention on March 4. Someone posted it on NASCAR’s X account handle, with more than 3.6 million followers.

The post boasted about “Introducing $NASCAR Token – the official digital asset of motorsports, built on Solana to enhance fan engagement, rewards, and exclusive experiences.” Interestingly, some X users reported that the Xfinity Series account and NASCAR’s Facebook also featured similar, now-deleted posts.

But what is more jaw-dropping is the NBA’s involvement. In fact, the basketball league’s account, boasting 48.1 million followers, released the post sooner at 2:45 PM ET. Like NASCAR, it claimed that it launched a crypto coin—$NBA Coin—under the Solana network.

However, both sports leagues deleted the posts within minutes of posting. Both NASCAR and NBA confirmed that the posts were the result of cyber criminals hacking into their accounts. This is hardly the first time such a dilemma has struck. A well-known example of hackers trying to manipulate popular sports happened at the end of the 2022 MLB lockout. ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan’s X account was hacked to promote NFTs. Then, recently at Atlanta Motor Speedway, someone hacked into NASCAR’s official radio channels. It looked like they were a diehard Kyle Larson fan, as people heard, “Do not f— with Larson. Don’t you f— with Larson, Elton.”

This cryptocurrency hack emerged recently and has sent ripples of concern in both sports. However, the NBA had a crypto curiosity earlier.

Investing in digital trading

Although NASCAR fans may have raised their eyebrows, NBA fans might have believed the hacked social media post. That is because back in 2021, the NBA launched NBA Top Shot, a blockchain-based platform. It allowed fans to buy, sell, and trade unique versions of officially licensed video highlights. Buyers of the digital coin could join ‘pack drops’ and bid for ‘moments’ like LeBron James‘s signature dunk or a Steph Curry buzzer-beater.

Top Shot signals the rise of NFTs, or non-fungible tokens – these are virtual assets that do not risk being duplicated or stolen. Not only was this blockchain endeavor received well by the NBA community, but it was also a huge success.

In January 2021, a video of a Zion Williamson block sold for $100,000 on NBA Top Shot. Then collectors spent a whopping $255 million in a month to buy digital NBA highlight clips on the blockchain collectibles platform. NBA’s Blockchain Advisory Committee included Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks owner. He emphasized the importance of NFTs, asking to “get over that perception that I have to physically be able to touch it, and realize that’s more hassle; the joy of ownership is really what matters.” Undoubtedly, NBA Top Shot is still grabbing fans’ attention. And that was a genuine one. But the March 4 crypto post came out as a hoax.

And not just the NBA’s but also that of NASCAR’s. Let us hope that both sporting leagues do not fall prey to cyber criminals.