PancakeSwap’s official Chinese X (formerly Twitter) account has been compromised in a coordinated phishing campaign that promoted a fake meme coin called “Mr. Pancake.”

The attack, confirmed early Tuesday, saw the verified Chinese-language PancakeSwap account post links promoting the fraudulent token. Within hours, the DEX team alerted users not to click on any links and confirmed they were “actively working with the X team to resolve the issue.”

Despite the breach, market reaction was muted. CAKE rose 6.4% in the past 24 hours, peaking at $4.50 before stabilizing around $4.30, according to CoinGecko data — suggesting investors remain confident in PancakeSwap’s fundamentals.

This latest compromise underscores a broader trend of crypto-related social media hacks, often aimed at hijacking verified accounts to spread phishing links. The incident follows a similar attack just last week on BNB Chain’s official X account, which was briefly used to share a fake reward link before being restored.

According to Shān Zhang, chief information security officer at SlowMist, such attacks often exploit human error rather than technical flaws.

“Social media accounts are easily hacked because many controllers have weak security awareness and are susceptible to phishing.”

Cybersecurity specialists also warn that attacks are becoming more sophisticated through AI and deepfake technology. Slava Demchuck, CEO of blockchain analytics firm AMLBot said

“We’ve seen a 60% increase in phishing incidents involving AI-generated voice and video spoofing. This kind of technology is now accessible even to beginner scammers.”

A Pattern of Celebrity and Corporate Account Breaches

The PancakeSwap hack joins a growing list of high-profile Web3 and entertainment industry breaches. In August, the Instagram accounts of Adele, Future, Tyla, and the late Michael Jackson were hijacked to promote an unrelated Solana-based meme coin, showing how social media compromise has become a favored vector for crypto scams.

These incidents highlight the human element as the weakest security link. “People are easy to target,” said Alex Katz, CEO of cybersecurity firm Kerberus. “From social media managers to blockchain developers, the lack of multi-layered security makes breaches almost inevitable.”

Experts stress that preventing such attacks requires discipline and layered safeguards — from stronger authentication to better employee training.

Zhang recommends enabling two-factor authentication (2FA), using unique passwords, and avoiding password reuse across platforms. Katz added that companies should enforce security protocols that exclude phone-linked 2FA to prevent SIM-swapping attacks, a common exploit in crypto-targeted breaches.

While PancakeSwap continues its investigation, its swift communication and the community’s calm response underscore a key lesson for the industry: in DeFi, resilience isn’t just about technology — it’s about trust, transparency, and user education.

DeFi’s Biggest Threat Isn’t Code — It’s Complacency

The PancakeSwap incident reinforces a painful truth — decentralized platforms remain only as secure as the people managing them. As Web3 expands, social engineering, not smart contract exploits, is emerging as the new frontier of attack.

For an industry built on decentralization and user sovereignty, strong security hygiene is the last line of defense. Until teams adopt enterprise-grade practices for access control, even the most robust protocols will remain vulnerable to a single compromised login.