He Yi's WeChat account was hacked; Vitalik Buterin sponsored an encrypted communication project: Web3 urgently needs secure encrypted chat software.

The battle for privacy in the digital age has long been raging, and the theft of Binance co-CEO He Yi's WeChat account has undoubtedly brought this war back into the public eye.

Coincidentally, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin had just made a large donation to an encrypted communication project. Elon Musk is also accelerating the development of XChat, an encrypted chat application "similar to the Bitcoin system."

The interplay of these events clearly points to one conclusion: Web3 encryption software is no longer just an industry choice, but also a necessity for all users, both internally and externally.

He Yi's WeChat account was hacked: Exposing the shortcomings of centralized social media platforms

On December 10, He Yi's WeChat account was suddenly taken over by hackers and used to promote a Memecoin called "Mubarakah".

This attack by hackers can be described as a "precision strike"—exploiting vulnerabilities in the centralized data storage of traditional platforms, they easily gained access through phone number recycling channels and released false promotional information, causing market fluctuations. Although He Yi responded quickly and compensated the victims with BNB, the problems exposed by the incident are far from being resolved.

Traditional identity authentication methods inherently carry the risk of data leakage, with user data ownership controlled by the platform. This not only poses a threat of hacker attacks but may also present a "human test" of platform abuse.

This incident also points to a core dilemma in the digital asset field—when communication and transactions rely on centralized tools, security defenses are essentially just "paper walls."

Security vulnerabilities in centralized applications are inevitable: a single server is both a data management center and an attack target, and once breached, it can trigger a domino effect of risks. Even more alarming is that users are always in a passive position on these platforms—their data is stored, analyzed, and even sold by the platform, yet they cannot truly control their own information sovereignty. This runs counter to the core principle of the Web3 era: "data belongs to the user."

The cautionary message of He Yi's incident lies precisely in this: with hacking techniques evolving rapidly, simple password protection is no longer sufficient. The decentralized technology and encryption mechanisms brought by Web3 are the core solution for building a secure communication defense.

Vitalik Buterin's Choice: Industry Leaders Cast a Vote of Trust in Encrypted Communications

Market pain points often spur waves of innovation, and the rise of Web3 encryption software is a direct response to the crisis of centralization. These applications rely on blockchain technology to build a decentralized architecture, ensuring that messages are only visible to the sender and receiver through end-to-end encryption (E2EE), thus solving the risk of data leakage at its technical root. Vitalik Buterin's substantial sponsorship has injected a strong boost into this field.

On November 27th, Vitalik Buterin donated approximately $760,000 worth of ETH (256 ETH) to two encrypted communication projects, Session and SimpleX. This donation was interpreted by the industry as a "manifesto for privacy protection." Against the backdrop of the EU's "Chat Control" proposal strengthening regulatory oversight, Buterin explicitly stated that these projects represent "the next step in privacy protection" and are key tools in combating excessive surveillance—a statement that strongly echoes the security needs highlighted by the He Yi incident.

• Session: A decentralized messaging application based on the Oxen blockchain, with "no metadata leakage" as its core advantage. Users can register without a phone number or email address, and messages are transmitted through a Tor-like routing network, ensuring that no single node can trace the source and destination of a message. Vitalik Buterin's donation of 128 ETH will be used to optimize its privacy protocol and strengthen its ability to address global privacy challenges.
• SimpleX: A chat platform that emphasizes "minimalist encryption," enhancing usability through multi-device synchronization while adhering to the principle of not storing any user identifiers. Its "no metadata, no server dependency" design perfectly avoids the risks of centralized storage, and another 128 ETH sponsorship will accelerate the expansion of its mobile ecosystem.

Vitalik Buterin's choice was no accident. With top investors like a16z pouring money into decentralized social projects, the entire industry has reached a consensus: encrypted communication is not a niche need, but rather the infrastructure of the Web3 ecosystem. The events surrounding He Yi further transformed this need from "optional" to "necessary," accelerating the migration of users to encrypted software.

Encrypted communication applications, based on blockchain and decentralized technologies, fully protect user privacy; they also provide end-to-end encryption (E2EE), ensuring messages are only visible between the sender and receiver. Even if the server is compromised, hackers cannot read the content. Furthermore, decentralized storage avoids single points of failure; user data is distributed across the network, greatly reducing the risk of theft.

Encrypted IM Landscape: Who Can Take the Lead in Privacy Protection?

Besides the two projects endorsed by Vitalik Buterin, there are already many mature encrypted communication tools in the Web3 field, which build security defenses from different dimensions.

Signal , hailed as the "gold standard" for encrypted communication, features a default end-to-end encryption mechanism based on symmetric encryption algorithms and the Diffie-Hellman key exchange protocol, which has long been championed by privacy activists such as Snowden. However, as a tool-oriented application, its functionality focuses on communication security and lacks the collaborative capabilities of the Web3 ecosystem.

Session takes anonymity a step further, achieving a "no identity binding" communication experience through a decentralized architecture and Tor routing technology. However, due to its limited technological focus, its functionality is relatively simple and it is difficult to meet users' needs for integrated social and transaction services.

Element : Built on the Matrix open-source protocol, it allows users to choose their own connection nodes and performs excellently in terms of decentralization. Its dual-layer encryption mechanism balances security and efficiency, but its multi-protocol compatibility also leads to a higher operating threshold, making it more suitable for technically skilled users.

XChat : A key component of Musk's "super app" strategy, it is built on the Rust language and uses the same elliptic curve cryptography algorithm as Bitcoin. However, its core functionality is only available to X Premium paid users and is limited by the X platform ecosystem, so its decentralized nature and neutrality remain controversial.

Luffa , a recently emerging decentralized application based on the Endless protocol, takes this to an even more thorough level. Its unique distributed encryption technology positions it as "the world's most secure social app." Luffa integrates security into every functional module: a registration mechanism that eliminates the need for phone numbers and email addresses, preventing identity information leaks at the source; end-to-end encryption technology ensures messages are only visible to the sender and receiver, and even the platform itself cannot access the content; decentralized storage distributes data across global nodes, completely resolving the security risks of a single server.

More notably, Luffa breaks through the functional boundaries of traditional crypto tools, seamlessly integrating wallets, payments, AI assistants, and the mini-program ecosystem. Users can directly complete cryptocurrency transfers and NFT transactions while securely chatting, achieving a closed-loop experience of "social as ecosystem"—this is the core advantage that distinguishes Web3 applications from traditional tools. Simultaneously, Luffa is also exploring the direction of AI autonomous intelligence and is committed to becoming a super connector for Web3.

Luffa is now available on Google Play and the App Store. Its one-stop Web3 privacy social experience has won the favor of crypto enthusiasts and high-net-worth individuals, making it their "mobile privacy fortress." According to Luffa's latest data, it currently has over 1 million registered users.

In conclusion: In the Web3 era, privacy is a fundamental right, not a luxury.

The theft of He Yi's WeChat account served as a "stress test," exposing the fatal flaws of traditional communication tools and bringing the value of Web3 encryption software to widespread recognition. From Vitalik Buterin's sponsorship of Session and SimpleX to the rise of comprehensive applications like Luffa, the entire industry is responding to the demands of the times with technological innovation.

As privacy protection becomes a necessity, decentralized applications will inevitably follow. Security is never a luxury, but a fundamental right for everyone. Faced with the risks of the digital world, choosing encryption software like Luffa is not only choosing a more secure communication method, but also choosing true data sovereignty—perhaps this is the most precious gift Web3 offers to ordinary people.