The MUBARA memecoin scam, which exploited Binance co-CEO Yi He’s abandoned WeChat account, felt like a low-stakes, high-visibility prank. A $55,000 profit is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but given the target, the damage could have been catastrophic. We need to look past the superficial details and ask the uncomfortable “what if” questions that reveal the true systemic risk.
What If the Target Was Not MUBARA?
Credit from HODL Buzz
Imagine if the compromised account had promoted a malicious smart contract, a new token claiming to be a “Binance Launchpad exclusive,” or worse—a phishing link to a fake Binance login page. The loss of funds could have easily reached tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, given the size of Binance co-CEO Yi He’s professional network. The trust arbitrage here is enormous; a malicious signal from such a high-authority source is the single most effective tool for mass phishing.
What If the Account Was Used for Market Chaos?
The attackers chose a simple pump-and-dump. But what if they had posted false, damaging news about a stablecoin or a major DeFi protocol? A simple, fake WeChat message from Binance co-CEO Yi He’s account claiming a major withdrawal issue or a regulatory ban could have triggered a panic selling event (or even a bank run) across multiple markets. The damage to market stability and investor confidence would have far outweighed the hackers’ profit. This highlights the vulnerability of the entire ecosystem to reputation attacks originating from Web2 flaws.
What If Binance co-CEO Yi He’s Phone Number Was Used to Reset Other Services?
The access point seems to have been related to an old phone number. This raises the alarming possibility that if the hackers had control over the number itself (via SIM swap or other means), they could have used it to access other services tied to that number—personal emails, or even multi-factor authentication codes for unrelated accounts. While there is no evidence this happened, the Web2 attack vector remains a foundational threat that crypto executives must address immediately to secure not just their social presence but their entire digital identity.
