Gunna’s name belongs to a particular kind of internet memory that never really dies, it just waits.
I’ve watched enough of these resurface to know they usually come back for a reason, and this one is no exception. On August 15, 2026, that memory came roaring back for the Atlanta rapper, when a post from X user @Catolicc questioning why rappers “glaze crypto people” only to “extract another coin” pulled a four-year-old controversy right back into the timeline.
Attached to the post was an old clip of Gunna laughing at dinner, tagged to his 2022 collaboration with Gunna on “on one tonight.” On-chain investigator ZachXBT had quote-tweeted the post, and the internet was once again relitigating one of hip-hop’s messiest brushes with crypto.
It’s a story that, on paper, is old news. But the way it resurfaced, organically, through a casual observation about rappers and crypto grifts, tells me something about how little trust has actually been rebuilt between artists and their fanbases since the 2022 crypto crash. Here’s the full picture, pieced together from the original posts and the public record.
What The Viral Post Actually Said
The post that kicked things off this time wasn’t even about Gunna specifically. @Catolicc’s original message was a broader complaint about a pattern many crypto-watchers have noticed: rappers cozying up to crypto influencers and projects, seemingly to build credibility they can cash in on later when they “inevitably launch and extract another coin.” It’s a cynical read, and honestly, I don’t think it’s an unfounded one given how many celebrity coin launches from the 2021–2022 bull run ended in accusations of rug pulls.
That framing set the stage for what came next, a reply that didn’t let the moment pass without receipts.
ZachXBT’s Response Dug Up The Receipts
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT, known across crypto circles for exposing scams and tracing stolen funds, replied directly to the post with a callback: “Who remembers back in 2022 when Gunna launched a scam and deleted the post after lying his account got ‘hacked.’”
He backed the claim with screenshots he says he obtained showing private text exchanges between people allegedly negotiating the promotional deal behind the scenes, alongside Gunna’s original public apology tweet in which he insisted his account had been compromised.
Revisiting The Original 2022 “Pushin Peth” Saga
To understand why this resurfaced post hit a nerve, you have to go back to late January 2022. Gunna, fresh off the massive success of his single “Pushin P,” tweeted an endorsement for a new cryptocurrency called PushinPETH, describing it as a “crypto metaverse” project and urging fans to join its Telegram, saying he was “taking this to the moon”. The name was an obvious play on his own hit record, and fans took it as a genuine co-sign from an artist they trusted, which, in my view, is exactly what made the fallout sting so much when it collapsed.
Within hours, the tweet vanished. So did the @pushinpeth account tied to the project. Crypto watchers, ZachXBT included, quickly flagged the coin’s price chart, which showed a familiar pattern: a sharp spike after Gunna’s tweet, followed by a near-total collapse, the textbook signature of a rug pull, where early holders or insiders cash out at the expense of everyone who bought in after the promotion.
Gunna’s Hacked Account Defense And The Pushback
Days later, Gunna addressed the backlash directly, posting a statement to his followers claiming he had no knowledge of the PushinPETH project, that his account had been hacked, and that the deletion was his own doing once he noticed the unauthorized post. He apologized to anyone who lost money and denied ever knowingly co-signing a scam.
ZachXBT wasn’t convinced. In a follow-up thread at the time, he laid out a timeline arguing the tweet had reportedly been planned in advance, down to an alleged specific posting time, and that direct messages appeared to show coordination between Gunna’s camp and the coin’s developer ahead of the launch, details that, if accurate, would directly contradict the hacking explanation. I’ll say this much: the “hacked account” defense has become such a common line in crypto controversies that it’s easy to see why skeptics like ZachXBT don’t take it at face value anymore. Gunna has never publicly revisited the incident in detail since, and no legal action or regulatory finding tied to the episode has been reported.
Why This Old Story Is Trending All Over Again
What makes this week’s resurfacing notable isn’t new evidence, it’s timing and appetite. Crypto culture in 2026 is still reckoning with a long string of celebrity-backed token collapses, and any post that taps into that fatigue tends to travel fast. @Catolicc’s original observation wasn’t even naming Gunna directly at first; it was ZachXBT’s reply that turned a general grievance into a specific, sourced accusation, pulling Gunna’s name back into a conversation he likely thought had faded years ago.
For now, there’s no indication Gunna has responded to this latest round of attention, and neither he nor his team has issued a fresh statement addressing the resurfaced claims as of this writing. The episode remains, as it did in 2022, a case of conflicting accounts: an artist who says he was hacked, and an investigator who says the evidence tells a different story. I’d encourage readers to review both sides directly through public archives rather than relying on secondhand retellings.
What’s clear to me is that in an industry where fan trust is currency, old receipts have a way of resurfacing at the worst possible moment and in the crypto world, nothing ever really gets deleted for good.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services. Follow us on X @nulltxnews
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