Binance co-founder Yi He used X on Monday to warn the crypto community that an individual referred to as “Zhu Pan” had impersonated her in scam attempts, prompting derivatives exchange CoinUp to publish a statement on Tuesday distancing its platform from the person. The warning landed as a widely shared Chinese-language thread tied the same individual to CoinUp and alleged a rug pull on the exchange, claims CoinUp disputed point by point in a four-part response.
Yi He, who was elevated to co-CEO alongside Richard Teng in December 2025, told her followers that Zhu Pan had once impersonated someone else to scam her and failed, and had also impersonated her to scam “Brother Sun,” a reference to Tron founder Justin Sun. In a follow-up post she added that the individual used AI-generated content to impersonate prominent families from China and Hong Kong, along with major crypto exchanges, and flagged a separate WeChat account impersonating Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. Sun responded directly, calling her account accurate and urging the industry to pursue the conduct through the courts.
Zhu Pan Thread Revives 2018 ZJLT Collapse Claims
The exchange messages followed a thread from the account Web3老吴 alleging that the figure behind CoinUp rose to prominence through traffic from the BeeCool platform, orchestrated a 2018 fundraising round that collapsed after raising large sums, and later built CoinUp using node-dividend recruitment and high withdrawal taxes to lock up funds.
The thread also alleged a large-scale leak of platform backend data, including user real-name verification information. That account aligns with 2018 reporting, when investors protested at Beijing offices linked to the ZJLT project, demanding their money back from a backer reported to hold a 50% stake.
CoinUp Ties CPX Swings to Selling Pressure
CoinUp said Zhu Pan is not a member of its platform and does not participate in core operational management, describing his role instead as the project party for a project launched on the exchange. Linking his personal actions or past experiences to the platform entity constitutes an inaccurate interpretation, the statement said.
On the token, CoinUp said recent swings in the CPX/USDT pair stemmed primarily from concentrated selling pressure and that it was still investigating. CPX posted an all-time high above $0.829 last Friday, according to data cited by Lookonchain. A security review found no evidence of hacking, breaches, or exploited vulnerabilities, the exchange said, adding that it reserves the right to pursue legal accountability for malicious rumor-mongering.
The dispute adds to a run of cases across the sector, from the largest crypto seizure in U.S. Secret Service history to a jury conviction over investment fraud schemes and an arrest tied to Southeast Asian scam compounds.