The WeChat account of Binance co-CEO Yi He was hijacked and turned into a billboard for a meme coin called Mubarak (MUBARAK), triggering a classic pump-and-dump that left the attacker with roughly 55,000 dollars in profit. The compromised account shared promotional content about the token, giving the impression that a senior Binance executive was backing it.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) confirmed the compromise in a warning on X, telling followers not to buy any coins promoted from the hijacked account and stressing that “Web2 social media security is not that strong.” That public alert quickly reframed the story from potential endorsement to clear scam, but only after the attacker had already executed the trade.
Early reports from on-chain analysts and news desks, including detailed writeups on the incident, describe a straightforward pattern: the hacker accumulated Mubarak cheaply, used the hijacked WeChat profile to generate fear-of-missing-out, then sold into the resulting spike.
How The Mubarak Pump-And-Dump Worked
On-chain data reconstructed by blockchain analytics accounts such as Lookonchain shows the mechanics behind the scam. Shortly before the WeChat posts went out, the attacker created two fresh wallets on BNB Chain, then used them to start accumulating MUBARAK via decentralized exchanges like PancakeSwap.
In total, the wallets spent around 19,479 USDT to purchase approximately 21.16 million MUBARAK tokens at low prices. Once the attacker held a sizable position, the compromised WeChat account began pushing Mubarak to Yi He’s contacts and followers, giving the impression that the coin had implicit backing from Binance leadership.
As the posts spread, MUBARAK’s price and volume spiked sharply. Dex and price-tracking dashboards showed the token jumping from roughly 0.001 dollars to as high as 0.008 dollars in minutes, briefly pushing its market capitalization toward eight million dollars.
With liquidity pouring in, the attacker then began offloading tokens. On-chain traces suggest that about 11.95 million MUBARAK were sold for roughly 43,520 USDT, while around 9.21 million tokens remained in the wallets with a notional value of about 31,000 dollars at the time of the reports. Combined, that left the attacker with near 55,000 dollars in profit and more tokens still available to sell.
What Mubarak (MUBARAK) Actually Is
Mubarak is a meme coin launched on the BNB Chain in 2025, playing on Middle Eastern cultural themes and the Arabic word for “blessed.” It has been covered in several background explainers and is tracked on major price aggregators like CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap.
The token emerged from a wave of BNB Chain meme activity stoked in part by past social media posts from Binance leadership and hype in Arabic-speaking communities. Like many meme assets, MUBARAK does not promise traditional fundamentals. Its value is driven largely by community sentiment, speculative flows and periodic listing or narrative catalysts.
That profile makes it an attractive vehicle for quick pump-and-dump cycles. A small pool of liquidity, an eye-catching theme and viral posts from real or compromised accounts are enough to drive large percentage moves over short windows.
CZ’s Warning And Web2 Security Limits
CZ’s response to the incident focused less on the specific token and more on the broader security model of centralized social platforms. In his X post, he urged users not to buy any meme coins promoted from the compromised account and added that Web2 social media security “is not that strong,” telling followers to “Stay safu!”
He also noted that he has not used WeChat for years and that users should be skeptical of any direct meme coin endorsements that appear to come from high-profile accounts. Yi He, for her part, explained through other channels that she had not actively used the account recently and that the phone number linked to it had been taken over, preventing her from regaining access until after the damage was done.
The episode underlines a basic point: even if exchanges like Binance build strong internal controls, executive social profiles on platforms such as WeChat and X remain softer targets. Attackers can use SIM swaps, password reuse, phishing or compromised devices to gain access to accounts that followers instinctively trust.
A Growing Pattern Of Social Media Crypto Scams
Yi He’s WeChat hack is not an isolated case. News outlets and security researchers have documented a growing pattern of crypto scams that start with a compromised Web2 account and end with a meme coin pump.
Recent months have seen:
- Official project and exchange accounts on X hacked to share phishing links or fake airdrop pages
- High-profile founders and influencers having their social media profiles taken over to push obscure tokens
- Government and corporate accounts exploited to promote low-liquidity coins that exist only to be dumped on buyers
In each case, the formula is similar: gain control of a trusted channel, use it to endorse a thinly traded asset, and then dump into the liquidity that flows in from unsuspecting followers. Reports on the Mubarak incident put it squarely in this category.
The Yi He episode is especially notable because she is not just an influencer but a co-CEO of a major exchange and a co-founder of the broader BNB Chain ecosystem. That made the WeChat endorsement particularly powerful, even though it was fraudulent.
Why Users Fall For These Schemes
There are several reasons why scams like this often succeed, at least for a time.
First, social proof is powerful. When a token appears to be promoted by a well-known industry figure, many traders infer that there is insider knowledge, special access or at least a serious opportunity.
Second, meme coins are built around speed and FOMO. They are designed to move fast and make early adopters feel like they cannot afford to wait. When those dynamics combine with a seemingly credible endorsement, due diligence often falls by the wayside.
Third, the mechanics of decentralized exchanges make it trivial for attackers to set up and farm illiquid coins. With tools like pump-and-dump monitoring already documented in academic research, scammers know that they have a short window in which to act before the community catches on.
The end result is that a relatively small amount of capital – in this case under 20,000 USDT – can be turned into a mid-five-figure profit at the cost of later buyers who arrive after the spike.
Takeaways For Security And Risk Management
For retail users and professionals alike, the Mubarak pump built on Yi He’s hacked WeChat account offers a few practical lessons.
- Treat any meme coin promotion from a social account, even a verified one, as unconfirmed until it is backed by official announcements on primary channels like an exchange website or main X handle.
- Remember that executive and project accounts can be compromised. A famous avatar is not proof that a message is authentic.
- Avoid chasing illiquid tokens that have just been shilled from a single channel, especially if on-chain data shows a handful of wallets buying heavily just before the post.
For platforms and leaders, the incident is a reminder that personal account security is part of corporate risk management. Two-factor authentication, hardware keys, strict SIM protections and clear public policies about what will and will not be promoted can all reduce the damage when something goes wrong.
Conclusion
The hijacking of Binance co-CEO Yi He’s WeChat account to promote Mubarak shows how little attackers need to run a profitable meme coin scam: a trusted social channel, a volatile token and a few tens of thousands of dollars in seed capital.
By buying MUBARAK early, pushing it through a compromised profile and then selling into the surge, the hacker turned a 19,479 USDT outlay into an estimated 55,000 dollars in gains, while latecomers were left holding the risk.
CZ’s warning about Web2 social media security captures the broader message. In a market where a single post can move millions, treating every endorsement with skepticism – and every executive account as a potential target – is no longer optional.
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