Binance co-CEO Yi He has turn out to be the primary crypto-native government ever named to Fortune’s Most Highly effective Ladies in Enterprise record. The 2026 rating positioned her at #64.
Her debut places a single identify from the cryptocurrency sector alongside chiefs from finance, retail, and Fortune 500 know-how. The popularity arrives months after Binance formally promoted her to co-CEO in December 2025.
1. She Recruited CZ to Crypto, Not the Different Approach Round
Yi He pivoted from Chinese language tv into the cryptocurrency sector in 2014. She joined the trade OKCoin, now often called OKX, as a advertising government.
From that perch, she recruited a then-little-known engineer, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), as chief know-how officer. The pair later grew to become life companions and co-founded Binance throughout the 2017 ICO increase.
Yi He led advertising, branding, and world person progress whereas CZ dealt with the know-how stack. Most retellings of Binance’s origin reverse who pulled whom into the digital asset house.
2. She Went from Kerosene Lamps to Multibillionaire Standing
Yi He was born in 1986 in a rural Sichuan village with out constant electrical energy or operating water. She misplaced her father at age 9 and labored selling gentle drinks at 16.
She later labored as a journey tv host and, in her thirties, taught herself English to assist increase Binance globally.
She reportedly holds a couple of 10% stake in Binance by a holding firm.
“CZ reportedly owns almost 90% of Binance, whereas his companion, co-founder, and the mom of his youngsters, Yi He, controls the remaining 10%,” one person highlighted.
That place makes her one of many wealthiest ladies within the crypto sector, in accordance with a Fortune profile.
3. Each New Binance Rent Works the Buyer Service Line
Yi He constructed Binance round what she calls a user-first philosophy, and he or she enforces it operationally.
New staff, no matter seniority, should spend time dealing with buyer help tickets.
She additionally engages straight with customers on X, Telegram, and WeChat, together with responding to rip-off stories. Bloomberg has beforehand known as her essentially the most highly effective girl in crypto.
Chinese language-speaking communities consult with her as “一姐” (Yi Jie), or “Large Sister Yi.”
4. She Runs an Funding Arm that Bets Far Past crypto
Yi He leads YZi Labs, the family-office successor to Binance Labs that rebranded in January 2025. The fund deploys capital throughout Web3, synthetic intelligence, biotech, and different frontier sectors.
YZi Labs reportedly manages greater than $10 billion in belongings throughout over 300 portfolio firms. The automobile provides her an influence base outdoors the trade itself.
She co-owns the fund with CZ, with whom she has three youngsters, however was by no means legally married.
5. Her co-CEO Promotion Adopted Binance’s Greatest Authorized Disaster
Yi spent years as a behind-the-scenes operator earlier than her formal elevation to co-CEO in December 2025. She shares the title with Richard Teng, who handles compliance and regulatory affairs.
The promotion adopted her work steering Binance by CZ’s 2023 responsible plea. That episode included a $4.3 billion U.S. settlement that just about redrew the trade’s future.
In her response to the Fortune recognition, Yi He framed it as a marker for the trade quite than a private trophy.
“I’m actually humbled to be the primary crypto-native government to obtain this recognition on the #FortuneMPW record. Constructing Binance from the very starting has been an unbelievable journey, and this can be a very private second for me,” she stated.
Whether or not her debut turns into a one-off or the beginning of broader recognition for crypto leaders stays to be seen. A lot will rely upon how Binance handles its subsequent compliance cycle.
“The popularity could carry my identify, however it belongs to the Binance workforce, Binance customers, Satoshi Nakamoto, and to each member of the crypto group who helped flip this trade from an thought into a world wave,” she added.
The submit 5 Issues to Know About Yi He, First Crypto Boss on Fortune’s Most Highly effective Ladies Listing appeared first on BeInCrypto.