Binance Co-CEO’s WeChat Hacked in Memecoin Pump-and-Dump Scheme

Security breach at the top—crypto exchange giant Binance faces a social engineering attack targeting its leadership.

Anatomy of a Digital Heist

The compromised personal account became an unwitting broadcast channel. Attackers seized the platform to push a dubious memecoin, executing a classic pump-and-dump with a high-profile megaphone. It highlights a persistent vulnerability: the human element. Even the most secure corporate systems can be undermined by a single point of personal account failure.

The Ripple Effect on Trust

Incidents like these send shivers through the market. They don't just steal data—they erode the foundational trust required for mainstream adoption. Every hack, especially one leveraging a C-suite name, becomes a case study for skeptics. It's a gift to regulators drafting the next round of compliance mandates, proving their point about the 'wild west' before the ink dries. The irony? The very decentralization evangelized by crypto is often betrayed by centralized social media platforms acting as the attack vector.

Beyond the Headline: A Call for Operational Security

The real story isn't the temporary price spike of a fly-by-night token. It's the escalating sophistication of phishing and SIM-swapping campaigns aimed at crypto's biggest players. This isn't about hacking a blockchain; it's about hacking the people who build on it. The industry's response will be telling—will it lead to fortress-like personal security protocols, or just another round of boilerplate 'lessons learned' statements?

In the high-stakes game of digital finance, sometimes the weakest link isn't in the code—it's in your contacts list. A sobering reminder that in the rush to disrupt traditional finance, the old scams learned some new tricks.

Hacker Shilled Memecoin Mubarakah Using Binance Co-CEO’s WeChat

Binance‘s new co-CEO Yi He fell prey to a social media hack Tuesday night, as founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has shared in an X post. “Someone hacked @heyibinance’s WeChat account,” said CZ. “Do not buy meme coins from the hackers posts.”

The entity who gained control of Yi He’s account used it to promote a small memecoin called Mubarakah (MUBARA). Like is usually the pattern with hacks like these, investors bought into the token, believing the endorsement to be coming from a well-known industry figure. This sent the memecoin soaring.

On-chain sleuth Lookonchain has revealed how the hacker timed their moves. First, the attacker made two wallets hours in advance, spending 19,479 USDT to buy 21.16 million in Mubarakah.

“After the pump, the hacker has already sold 11.95M $Mubarakah for 43,520 $USDT and still holds 9.21M $Mubarakah($31K), for a total profit of $55K,” explained Lookonchain. The pattern is a clear example of a classic pump-and-dump scheme.

Yi He posted on X that the phone number tied to her WeChat account was taken over, locking her out of the account. A few hours later, she shared that she was able to regain control of the account.

Zhao took the moment to throw a jab at legacy internet systems, saying, “Web 2 social media security is not that strong.” Web 2.0 refers to the traditional online ecosystems most apps still run on, as opposed to the newer, blockchain-powered Web 3.0.

The hack has come just a week after Yi He, who is also a co-founder, was appointed as Binance co-CEO. Previously, she served as chief customer service officer for the cryptocurrency exchange.

In some other news, Binance has become the first digital asset exchange in the world to receive a license from UAE’s ADGM this week, as announced in a press release.

ADGM, standing for Abu Dhabi Global Market, is the international financial center of UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi. ADGM’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) has given the exchange full authorization to operate its platform in the region.

Due to ADGM’s regulatory requirements, Binance will run its operations through three distinct entities, with each responsible for a separate function: an exchange, a clearing house, and a broker-dealer.

Binance co-CEO Richard Teng noted:

ADGM is one of the most respected financial regulators globally, and holding an FSRA license under their Gold standard framework shows that Binance meets the highest international standards for compliance, governance, risk management, and consumer protection.

Bitcoin Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $91,900, down 1% over the last week.