Loud scandal: Founders of Binance and TRON jointly expose CoinUp scam scheme
The crypto industry is once again shaken by a major scandal. This time, the platform CoinUp has come under scrutiny, unanimously labeled a financial pyramid scheme by experts and affected users. The situation has escalated to a fundamentally new level after market leaders — Binance co-founder Yi He and Tron CEO Justin Sun — publicly exposed a key figure.
According to my information, the platform operator, named Zhu Pan, systematically impersonated others, including Yi He herself, to mislead investors and key industry players. Justin Sun promptly confirmed this information, calling on the entire crypto community to unite in fighting such fraudsters.
Who is Zhu Pan and what happened to CoinUp?
This character is a veteran of the Chinese crypto scene with a highly dubious reputation dating back to 2017. His first major scam is linked to the startup ZJLT, which raised a substantial 25,000 ETH. After he joined the project, about 15,000 ETH vanished without a trace, and the token's price plummeted by over 90%. Affected investors staged mass protests, encountering aggressive individuals in black at the office.
The CoinUp exchange itself opened in September 2021 in Silicon Valley, was registered in the Cayman Islands, and headquartered in Singapore — all without the necessary licenses. The platform's sudden collapse in August 2025 affected approximately 230,000 users. The administration first blocked withdrawals and then completely zeroed out balances. According to leaked reports, cash flows were instantly transferred to accounts on major exchanges, including Binance.
Yi He claims that Zhu Pan actively uses neural networks to generate content, imitating correspondence from wealthy Chinese clans. A fake profile of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has already been discovered on the WeChat messenger.
My analysis: This case is a stark indicator that, even years after the FTX collapse, the industry remains vulnerable to well-organized fraudulent schemes. The reaction from Yi He and Justin Sun is not just a gesture of solidarity but a signal to the market: major players intend to actively clean house. However, investors should remember that the primary defense is their own due diligence. If a platform promises unrealistic returns without licenses and public reporting, it is almost certainly a pyramid scheme.