Binance and TRON leaders have united against the fraudulent platform CoinUp: details of the scandal
The cryptocurrency community has been shaken by a major scandal surrounding the CoinUp platform, which experts and affected users are now openly calling a financial pyramid scheme. The situation escalated to a new level after Binance co-founder Yi He and Tron CEO Justin Sun publicly made revelations, shedding light on the identity of the alleged scheme organizer — Zhu Pan.
Who is Zhu Pan and how CoinUp collapsed
Zhu Pan is a figure in the Chinese crypto scene with an extremely dubious reputation dating back to 2017. His first major scam was linked to the ZJLT project, which raised a substantial 25,000 ETH, after which about 15,000 ETH vanished without a trace. The project's token crashed by over 90%, and angry investors faced aggressive security guards at the office, while Zhu Pan himself disappeared from sight for a long time.
The CoinUp platform was launched in September 2021 in Silicon Valley, registered in the Cayman Islands, and headquartered in Singapore — all without the necessary regulatory licenses. In August 2025, the exchange suddenly collapsed. The administration first blocked withdrawals and then completely zeroed out user balances. According to leaked reports, cash flows were almost instantly transferred to accounts on major platforms, including Binance. The total volume of affected deposits and withdrawals exceeded 20 million USDT, and the number of affected users is estimated at around 230,000. CoinUp operated on a classic Ponzi scheme, where returns to old investors were paid solely from new infusions, with a complete lack of real asset backing.
Statements from Yi He and Justin Sun
Yi He openly named Zhu Pan as the shadow leader of CoinUp. She described how the fraudster used other people's names to deceive, including forging her personal data to manipulate Justin Sun. The latter promptly confirmed these facts and called on the crypto community to consolidate in the fight against such scammers, insisting on bringing them to legal responsibility.
Moreover, the Binance co-founder claims that Zhu Pan is actively generating content using neural networks. With AI technologies, he simulates correspondence on behalf of wealthy clans from China and Hong Kong, and also creates fake accounts of well-known exchanges. For example, a fake profile of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is currently active on the WeChat messenger. Yi He urges all market participants to remain extremely vigilant.
Expert opinion: This case is a stark reminder that even years after the collapse of FTX, the industry remains highly vulnerable to fraudulent schemes. The use of AI to create convincing fakes and manipulations is a new alarming trend that requires the community to adopt stricter verification measures and cooperation at the top management level.