How a crypto trader turned $3K into $2M after CZ mentioned a memecoin

Key takeaways: 

• CZ’s mention turned meme token “4” into a trade; one early buyer saw $3,000 grow to $2 million.

• The trigger was the hack of BNB Chain’s X account, which spawned “4.”

• The surge came from flow hitting thin liquidity, not fundamentals.

• Some wallets had already bought moments before CZ’s post.

On Oct. 1, 2025, BNB Chain’s official X account was hijacked and used to push phishing links. Within hours, the drama spun into a joke token on BNB Chain called “4,” a playful nod to reports that the attacker made off with only about $4,000.

Then, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, Binance’s co-founder and former CEO, referenced the incident.

That single mention turned a niche gag into a live market signal as attention flooded into a brand-new pool with barely any liquidity.

In the rush that followed, one early buyer put about $3,000 worth of BNB (BNB) into “4” and watched it mark up to around $2 million on screen within hours.

Did you know? When CZ tweets “4,” he’s referencing point #4 from his 2023 “Do’s & Don’ts” list: Ignore FUD, fake news, attacks, etc. It became a community shorthand long before the 4 memecoin appeared.

How a meme turned into a move

1. BNB Chain account hijacked (Oct. 1, 2025)

BNB Chain’s official X account was compromised and used to post phishing links to roughly 4 million followers. The team later regained control and issued warnings. Out of the chaos came a running joke that the attacker made off with only “$4k.”

2. A joke gets a ticker

Within hours, a new token called 4 launched on BNB Chain — a wink at the “$4k” meme. Early buyers began circling a brand-new liquidity pool that was barely funded.

3. CZ amplifies it

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao referenced the incident to his 10.3 million followers, noting the hacker’s small profit and how the community “bought the memecoin higher.” What began as a joke quickly turned into a live trade signal. Human traders and bots now had a ticker to chase.

4. The first wave of orders hits

Scanners flagged the contract, copy traders queued buys, and retail flowed through aggregators into the same shallow pool. With wafer-thin depth, each filled order lifted the next quote. Slippage widened, momentum compounded, and the chart turned near-vertical.

5. The headline wallet is already in

An address labeled “0x872” bought in early with about $3,000 worth of BNB. As attention flooded the pool and liquidity thinned, that small stake swelled to roughly $2 million within hours.

Inside the winning wallet

The wallet that grabbed headlines (“0x872”) didn’t look like a mastermind. It put around $3,000 worth of BNB into a freshly minted token and, as attention hit, watched its mark-to-market soar.

What turned a modest position into a paper fortune was getting in early on a thin pool. When liquidity is shallow, every new buyer pushes up the next quote you’d sell into — whether you actually sell or not.

Then came the moment every speculator both wants and dreads: life-changing numbers on screen with almost no depth underneath.

Onchain traces show only light profit-taking. The address kept over 98% of its portfolio in 4, still around $1.88 million after the first spike, maximizing upside if momentum held, but leaving the position exposed if a single decent market sell hit the pool.

The screenshots told the same story: roughly $1.8 million in unrealized profit over the week.

“Unrealized” is the operative word. Until an order fills, profit and loss (PnL) is just a suggestion. In venues where one sale can move the price several percentage points, even trimming requires intent and a plan. Many traders learn this by round-tripping a win back to par; this wallet, for a time, chose to ride.

Flow around the wallet fed the loop. “Smart money” addresses tracked by Lookonchain began buying 4, pushing it into the most accumulated BNB Chain tokens over the next 24 hours.

That feedback loop magnified reflexivity. As more screens lit up and copy trades fired, the early holder’s unrealized value kept climbing — until a larger seller finally tested the pool’s depth.

0x872’s outcome hinged on two choices: stepping in absurdly early and resisting the immediate urge to cash out.

Did you know? 0x872 wasn’t alone. Another wallet had reportedly bought minutes before CZ’s post and was up seven figures within hours — a reminder that fast alerts and feed monitoring can create a real edge in meme-driven bursts.

When hype outruns depth

So, what’s in store for the headline wallet? Maximum upside if momentum holds and maximum downside if a single decent sell order hits a shallow pool.

But we shouldn’t lose sight of the catalyst: a compromised official account. Spikes like this attract phishers and look-alike contracts. The takeaway is procedural. Verify the contract and the pool size, script an exit in advance and treat screenshots as suggestions until a fill clears.

Posts create flow, not value, and the exit door is narrower than it looks.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.