A fortunate cryptocurrency trader transformed a $3,000 investment into nearly $2 million within hours after Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao tweeted about a BNB Chain memecoin on X.
Blockchain data indicates that the trader, identified by wallet address “0x872,” was among the first to purchase the newly launched “4” ($4) token, as per blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain. The trader’s initial $3,000 investment in BNB (BNB) surged to $2 million, reflecting a roughly 650-fold return on investment.
Despite the substantial profits, the trader sold only a fraction of their holdings and continues to possess $1.88 million worth of the tokens.
The “4” token was launched in the aftermath of a phishing attack on the BNB Chain, where the hacker reportedly earned only $4,000 before the community turned the incident into a meme.
The trader seems to have aimed to leverage the social excitement around the memecoin, with over 98% of their crypto portfolio invested in 4.
The trader’s portfolio has amassed over $1.8 million in unrealized profits in the past week, according to data from CoinStats.
The industry’s top-performing cryptocurrency traders, tracked as “smart money” by Nansen’s blockchain intelligence platform, have also invested in the memecoin.
The “4” memecoin was the third-most-acquired token by smart money traders in the last 24 hours on the BNB Chain, with traders buying nearly $100,000 worth of tokens, according to data from Nansen .
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Although memecoins lack inherent utility, they have previously made millionaires of crypto traders.
In March, another trader reportedly turned a $2,000 investment into as much as $43 million by buying the frog-themed Pepe (PEPE) memecoin. However, the trader held onto Pepe during its 74% decline from its all-time high, reducing their unrealized $43 million profit to $10 million upon selling their position.
A different investor turned $27 into $52 million in May 2024, based on onchain data.
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CZ’s X post sends “4” memecoin parabolic
Interest in the “4” token escalated after Zhao reposted the BNB Chain’s announcement regarding the phishing incident to his 8.9 million followers on X.
“Interestingly, after the hacker sold ALL his tokens for a $4k profit, the community stepped in and bought the meme coin at higher prices, mocking the hacker,” Zhao stated in a Wednesday X post.
Another anonymous wallet bought the memecoin just minutes before Zhao’s X post. It was up over $1.5 million only hours after the transaction, according to a Wednesday X post by blockchain data visualization platform Bubblemaps.
Zhao’s post followed the temporary hacking of the BNB Chain’s official X account on Wednesday, as Cointelegraph reported.
The attacker exploited this opportunity to distribute phishing links and promote the memecoin to the page’s more than four million followers.
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