CZ Tried to Snag His Own WhatsApp Handle and Got Beat to It 🪤

Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive of Binance, was unable to reserve his preferred username during WhatsApp's global rollout this week, a miss that has drawn fresh attention to impersonation risks on the messaging platform. Zhao, one of the most recognizable figures in crypto, confirmed the failed claim on X, writing on June 30, 2026, "Tried, couldn't reserve that name. So, definitely not me." The incident occurred as WhatsApp began allowing users to replace phone numbers with custom usernames, using a first-come, first-served system that leaves any unclaimed handle open to whoever registers it first.

The new feature, which lets creators, businesses and organizations mirror their existing Instagram or Facebook handles, also includes an optional four-digit username key designed to stop unsolicited messages. WhatsApp has said it plans to rate-limit new contacts and block repeated attempts to guess a user's key, measures aimed at the same abuse patterns seen on Telegram. Security researchers note that the key is off by default and warn that without it enabled, anyone who learns a username can reach a user on the first attempt. Researchers also flagged the risk of lookalike characters, such as swapping a capital "I" for a lowercase "l," as a tactic that is nearly impossible to spot without a side-by-side comparison.

The race to claim handles is already attracting users hoping to profit, echoing activity on Telegram where founder Pavel Durov said in July 2025 that the early "@crypto" handle drew a $25 million offer. Data from 2025 showed the "@news" handle sold for $5.8 million. WhatsApp usernames are free to reserve inside the app, and Meta has not built a marketplace for trading them, a gap that contrasts with Telegram's tokenized Fragment platform and could limit any future resale market.

The episode comes as regulators have begun treating impersonation schemes with greater seriousness, including a recent criminal sentence tied to an impersonation-based staking scam. Security guidance published this week recommends that users enable WhatsApp's optional username key manually, inspect handles for substitution characters and confirm any high-profile contact through its official, verified account before responding. Zhao's public attempt underscored how easily a recognizable name can be claimed by someone else under the new system.