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Yi He, co-founder and co-CEO of Binance, took to X on June 23 to publicly call out an individual identified as Zhu Pan for allegedly impersonating her in a scheme targeting prominent crypto figure Justin Sun.
The accusation is notable not just for the high-profile names involved, but for how quickly it pulled in CoinUp, a cryptocurrency derivatives platform that found itself in the blast radius. CoinUp has since denied that Zhu Pan holds any direct role within the organization, describing him instead as a “project party” associated with its recently launched CPX token.
What happened and who’s involved
According to Yi He’s Chinese-language posts, Zhu Pan attempted to impersonate her in communications with Justin Sun. The attempt was apparently unsuccessful, but Yi He chose to go public with the warning anyway.
CoinUp’s response was swift and carefully worded. The platform clarified that Zhu Pan is not a direct member of their team, attempting to draw a clear line between the individual’s actions and their operations. They categorized him as connected to the CPX token project rather than to CoinUp’s core business.
At the same time, CoinUp disclosed that it is investigating unusual price movements in the CPX/USDT trading pair. The platform said it has found no evidence of hacking or security breaches so far.
A pattern of impersonation attacks
This isn’t the first time Yi He has dealt with impersonation attempts. In June 2024, she warned users about a similar incident in which more than 60 ETH was reportedly stolen through phishing links tied to someone posing as her.
Yi He has served alongside Richard Teng as co-CEO of Binance since December 2025, after the leadership restructuring that followed Changpeng Zhao’s departure from day-to-day operations.
CoinUp’s positioning and the CPX question
CoinUp positions itself as a derivatives trading platform offering spot trading, contracts, and project incubation services.
The platform’s decision to label Zhu Pan as a “project party” rather than an employee or executive is a distinction that matters legally but may not matter much in the court of public opinion. When a token launched on your platform gets entangled with fraud allegations involving the co-CEO of Binance and Justin Sun, the nuance of organizational charts tends to get lost.
The investigation into CPX/USDT price movements adds another layer of complexity. Even without evidence of a hack, sudden price swings in a newly launched token associated with someone accused of impersonation fraud will naturally attract suspicion.
What this means for investors
For anyone holding or considering CPX, the calculus is more immediate. A token whose associated “project party” is publicly accused of fraud by the co-CEO of Binance is not in a great spot, regardless of whether CoinUp’s investigation turns up anything.
The broader takeaway for traders and investors bears restating: verify everything. Yi He’s public warnings serve as a reminder that even the most prominent figures in crypto aren’t immune to having their identities weaponized, and the targets of these schemes range from retail holders losing 60 ETH to attempts on individuals like Justin Sun.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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