Yi He, one of the founders of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has refuted claims suggesting that a breach in platform security resulted in the loss of $1 million in cryptocurrency from a single user account. On June 3, He wrote a response to these allegations.
On the same day, a crypto trader known as Nakamao made accusations that their entire account balance had been lost due to “counter-trading,” without the need for their Binance account password or two-factor authentication details. Nakamao explained that a security firm informed them that a hacker had manipulated their account by controlling their web cookies. The hacker then made trades in the USDT trading pair with high liquidity, as well as placing limit sell orders above market price in BTC, USDC, and other pairs with low liquidity.
Subsequently, the hacker engaged in numerous leveraged bets against a counterparty, resulting in losses of nearly $1 million when the trades did not go as planned. Nakamao stated that they did not receive any security notifications from Binance throughout the entire ordeal.
Nakamao also claimed that unauthorized leveraged trades in their account caused significant fluctuations in the prices of certain altcoins. Binance’s customer service team responded by stating that a hacker had gained access to Nakamao’s account through a plug-in, impersonating them to carry out operations and transactions.
According to Binance, they acted swiftly to freeze Nakamao’s account within one minute and 19 seconds of being notified of the issue. However, the hacker had already executed several leveraged trades by that time. Nakamao disputed this assessment, expressing dissatisfaction with the response.
He from Binance then cautioned users about the risks of using cookie plugins to save login credentials, emphasizing that the exchange cannot provide compensation when accounts are compromised due to such practices.
He, a former Chinese television presenter, is now one of the two women leading the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, alongside Gracy Chen, the CEO of Bitget. Earlier in April, He had mentioned that her spouse, Changpeng Zhao, the co-founder and former CEO of Binance, had received a favorable outcome in his legal case regarding money laundering charges in the United States.
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