Binance co-founder Yi He has issued a public warning against an alleged impersonator operating under the name “Zhu Pan,” who she claims has attempted to exploit her identity in fraud schemes. The alert, posted on X on Monday, has triggered a broader reckoning across the crypto sector, with the derivatives trading platform CoinUp moving quickly to deny any operational connection to the individual.
According to reporting by CoinTelegraph, the incident began when a Chinese-language X post linked CoinUp to Zhu Pan, prompting immediate reputational concerns. CoinUp responded with a statement on Tuesday categorically denying the association. “Zhu Pan is not a member of the CoinUp platform and does not participate in core operational management or related work for the CoinUp platform,” the exchange said.
The episode illustrates a recurring vulnerability in crypto markets: how rapidly social media allegations can entangle exchanges and high-profile figures in disputes, sometimes with limited public information to clarify the facts.
The murky background of “Zhu Pan”
Details about the individual remain fragmented and contested across Chinese-language crypto communities. According to Chinese outlet Pencil News, someone identified as Zhu Pan was previously associated with the ZJLT initial coin offering in 2018—a project that later faced investor backlash over losses and fraud allegations. The individual has disputed claims of founder or operator status in that project.
Yi He alleged that Zhu Pan impersonated her in an attempt to scam Tron founder Justin Sun. Sun subsequently validated her account publicly, adding credibility to the warnings circulating in the community.
Binance declined to provide further comment to CoinTelegraph on the allegations or the individual’s identity.
CoinUp’s token volatility and damage control
While distancing itself from Zhu Pan operationally, CoinUp acknowledged that the individual maintains a connection to a project listed on its platform—a qualifier that suggests partial overlap even as the exchange denies broader institutional ties.
The timing of CoinUp’s statement coincided with unusual volatility in its native token, CPX. The token posted all-time highs above $0.829 last Friday before experiencing sharp sell-offs, according to on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain. CoinUp attributed the swings to concentrated market selling pressure and said it was investigating the root cause.
In a security-focused statement, CoinUp reported that its internal review uncovered no evidence of hacking, data breaches, or system vulnerabilities. The assertion was designed to reassure users that the price volatility stemmed from market dynamics rather than platform compromise—a critical distinction in an industry where security breaches often precede token collapses.
The incident underscores how reputational contagion spreads rapidly in crypto, where project relationships and operational hierarchies are frequently opaque to external observers. Even partial denials or technical clarifications can leave lingering questions in a market acutely sensitive to association with bad actors.