X (formerly Twitter) is rolling out an “auto-lock” and verification step for accounts that post about cryptocurrency for the first time. Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, said the change will automatically lock and require verification if a user posts about crypto for the first time in their account’s history. The goal is to remove the immediate value of newly created or recently hijacked accounts for scammers.
The policy drew attention after UK web3 creator Benjamin White reported his account was phished via a fake copyright email and then used to promote a crypto scam. Bier said the auto-lock should make compromised accounts effectively useless to criminals and curb rapid abuse of reputable accounts.
Bier emphasized that suspensions will still be handled by the policy team. X also plans to block community-mention spam—attacks that tag many users to propel crypto promos—and to flag sudden memecoin posts by high-profile accounts that have no prior crypto history. In those cases X will treat the post as likely the result of a hack and require account ownership verification.
Typical scam tactics start with phishing emails that mimic copyright or security notices, then use fake login pages to capture credentials and 2FA, and finally leverage real accounts to blast scam links. Scammers target X because hijacking a real account lets them exploit trusted voices and reach large crypto communities quickly.
X has taken enforcement and legal actions against fraud networks in the past, including exposing attempts to bribe employees to reinstate suspended accounts. Regulators have also criticized X’s subscription-based blue check system for allowing verification without strong identity checks, which can enable impersonation; the European Union fined X €120 million under the Digital Services Act in part over these weaknesses.
X’s new measures are designed to make hijacked accounts less valuable, raise the cost for scam operators, and reduce opportunistic phishing campaigns. But they may also introduce friction for legitimate newcomers to crypto, small creators, and journalists—risking false positives or temporary silencing when someone posts about crypto for the first time.
At the time of writing, BTC trades near $67k. Source: TradingView.