Zhu or not Zhu? Yi He spots a fake, CoinUp catches the shrapnel 🎭

Binance co-founder Yi He warned on X on Monday that an individual identified as "Zhu Pan" had impersonated her in failed scam attempts, including one aimed at Tron founder Justin Sun. Sun later said her account was "absolutely true." Yi He urged users to spread awareness of the alleged impersonator in a reply to a widely shared Chinese-language X post that linked the individual to the crypto derivatives trading platform CoinUp.

CoinUp pushed back in a statement on Tuesday, saying that "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 added that "associating his personal actions, past project experiences, or market rumors directly with the CoinUp platform entity constitutes an inaccurate interpretation," while acknowledging the individual is linked to a project listed on its platform.

Public information about Zhu Pan remains limited and disputed, with Chinese-language crypto communities circulating different accounts. According to a report by Chinese outlet Pencil News, a person identified as Zhu Pan was previously linked to the 2018 ZJLT initial coin offering project, which later faced investor backlash over losses and accusations of fraud. Zhu reportedly denied being a founder or operator of the project. Cointelegraph contacted Binance for further comment on the allegations but did not receive a response prior to publication.

CoinUp also addressed recent volatility in its native token, the CoinUp token (CPX), which reportedly posted all-time highs above $0.829 last Friday, according to Lookonchain. The company said the sharp price swings were caused by concentrated market selling pressure and that it was investigating the cause of the volatility. It added that its security review found no evidence of hacking, data breaches or system vulnerabilities. The episode highlights how social media allegations can quickly pull exchanges and high-profile figures into disputes, amplifying reputational risk across crypto markets.