From Phish to Fortune The Viral Surge of the 4 Memecoin

A trader’s $3,000 gamble on a freshly minted memecoin has morphed into a jaw-dropping $2 million windfall – all within hours – after Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao unwittingly sparked a frenzy on social media.

The lightning rise of the “4” memecoin

Blockchain analytics confirm that a trader identified by the wallet address 0x872 purchased the newly launched “4” ($4) token almost immediately after it appeared on the BNB Chain. The coin’s origins are deeply ironic: it was created as a satirical response to a recent phishing attack, where the hacker managed to extract only $4,000 before the crypto community flipped the incident into a tongue-in-cheek meme.

According to blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain, the trader’s initial investment of $3,000 in BNB soared to roughly $2 million in value — an eye-watering 650x return. While many would have taken immediate profit, the trader has only offloaded a small portion and still holds approximately $1.88 million in the meme token.

The opportunistic move appears to have been carefully timed. Data shows that over 98% of this investor’s portfolio is now composed of the “4” memecoin, placing them among the coin’s biggest believers.

Memes, markets and “smart money” investors

Despite memecoins lacking fundamental utility, speculative traders and blockchain natives continue to pour in, seeking out the next viral winner. In this case, the “4” coin rapidly gained traction, not just among retail traders but also among professionals recognised as “smart money” on Nansen’s blockchain analytics platform.

Within 24 hours, Nansen data revealed that smart money traders had collectively purchased nearly $100,000 worth of “4,” making it the third most-bought token on BNB Chain during the period. The sudden rally shows just how quickly online sentiment can transform an obscure asset into a short-term sensation.

For context, this speculative enthusiasm mirrors past moments of fortune in decentralised markets. Earlier this year, one trader famously turned $2,000 into $43 million by betting on the frog-themed Pepe (PEPE) memecoin — a position that later retraced sharply, shrinking his paper profits to around $10 million. Another investor achieved even greater extremes, transforming $27 into $52 million during the 2024 meme coin mania.

Such spectacular yet fleeting wins have made memecoins an unpredictable playground. They also serve as a litmus test for the mood of the wider cryptocurrency market and the evolving relationship between culture, community, and capital within Web3 ecosystems.

CZ’s post ignites the token’s breakout

The dramatic appreciation of “4” was ignited when Changpeng Zhao, known globally as “CZ,” shared a post about the BNB Chain phishing exploit with his 8.9 million followers on X (formerly Twitter). His commentary — lightly mocking the hacker’s minuscule $4,000 gain — effectively transformed the obscure token into a viral sensation overnight.

“Interestingly, after the hacker dumped all his tokens for a $4k gain, the community took over and bought the meme coin higher, as a mock to the hacker,” Zhao wrote, prompting thousands to investigate the new token. Market participants responded as if on cue: volume skyrocketed, and the price followed suit.

Analytics platform Bubblemaps later revealed that other wallets also aped into “4” almost simultaneously with Zhao’s post. One mysterious buyer who entered minutes before the repost reportedly saw their holding surge by over $1.5 million in just hours — before liquidity strains and market corrections began to test early entrants’ resolve.

The incident behind the meme

The BNB Chain’s official X account had been compromised only hours before Zhao’s viral post. The attacker used the hijacked profile to spread phishing links disguised as promotional giveaways, tricking followers into interacting with deceptive smart contracts. The scam’s total profit was modest, but its cultural aftermath proved substantial — giving birth to the “4” memecoin and turning an act of cybercrime into a community in-joke.

This rapid transformation from exploit to entertainment reflects a deeper phenomenon within decentralised culture — one where every event, even a hack, can be monetised through memetic creation and tokenisation. Yet it also raises questions about security and investor behaviour in a landscape where speculation frequently outpaces prudence.

Crypto recruitment trends in the memecoin era

For blockchain recruiters and crypto recruitment agencies, stories like this highlight more than viral profits — they capture a shift in workforce demand. In a market driven by real-time trends and social virality, the need for expert blockchain analysts, tokenomics designers, and risk management professionals has never been greater. Teams behind token launches, both legitimate and satirical, are seeking talent capable of executing concepts securely while navigating compliance and digital security challenges.

Crypto recruiters across Europe report a surge of interest in roles that blend financial analysis with community engagement — talents able to interpret movements like this “4” surge and translate them into actionable strategy. Spectrum Search itself has noted that candidates with hands-on experience in liquidity provision, Web3 growth marketing, and DeFi innovation remain in high demand.

As speculative cycles accelerate, the boundary between meme culture and market mechanics continues to blur, pushing blockchain recruitment into new, interdisciplinary territory. The ability to hire talent that can respond to this volatility — with technical proficiency, regulatory awareness, and creative agility — is now a competitive differentiator for any blockchain recruitment agency.

Where social sentiment meets financial speculation

The extraordinary rise of “4” encapsulates a recurring theme across Web3 markets: sentiment drives liquidity faster than fundamentals ever could. A single repost from a high-profile figure like Zhao can mobilise millions in trading volume within minutes, revealing both the power and fragility of decentralised finance psychology.

For investors and projects alike, it is a valuable reminder that social media has become a financial instrument in its own right — one capable of building, or breaking, markets overnight.

In a sector where fortune favours the fast, stories like this continue to define the evolving tapestry of the crypto ecosystem — an unpredictable yet profoundly human mix of greed, innovation and digital camaraderie that keeps both traders and recruiters on alert.