MILESTONE | Binance Co-Founder Becomes First Crypto-Native Executive to Be Recognized on Fortune’s ‘Most Powerful Women’ List

Yi He has spent years operating behind the scenes at Binance, but her appearance on Fortune’s 2026 Most Powerful Women list marks a turning point not just for her career, but for the broader crypto industry. Ranked No. 64, Yi He has become one of the first major crypto-native executives to break into a list traditionally dominated by Wall Street bankers, Big Tech leaders, and multinational CEOs.

Yi He’s rise mirrors Binance’s own trajectory from startup exchange to global crypto giant.

Before Binance, she built a reputation in China’s early crypto scene through roles at OKCoin and in media where her marketing instincts and community-building skills stood out. She later partnered with Changpeng Zhao (CZ) to launch Binance in 2017 helping the exchange scale at extraordinary speed during crypto’s first major bull market.

While Zhao became the public face of Binance, Yi He quietly shaped much of the company’s growth strategy. Industry observers have long credited her with building Binance’s

• aggressive user acquisition machine,
• overseeing customer engagement, and
• helping turn the exchange into the world’s largest crypto trading platform by volume.

Fortune described her as “the most powerful woman in crypto,” highlighting her influence inside the company and across the industry.

Her role expanded significantly as Binance navigated its most difficult chapter.

Following Binance’s $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities and Zhao’s resignation in 2023, the company faced intense regulatory scrutiny globally. Yi He emerged as one of the key figures stabilizing the business alongside CEO, Richard Teng, helping Binance maintain its dominance even as rivals and regulators questioned its future.

In late 2025, Binance elevated Yi He to co-CEO, formalizing a leadership role many insiders believed she had already been performing informally for years. The promotion reflected Binance’s shift toward a more compliance-focused and institutional structure under Teng while still leaning on Yi He’s

• product vision,
• marketing expertise, and
• deep connection with Binance’s global retail user base.

By then, Binance was approaching 300 million users worldwide and pushing toward its next growth phase in Web3, payments, and infrastructure.

Her inclusion on Fortune’s list also signals how deeply crypto has entered mainstream global finance. The ranking historically centered on leaders from banks, energy companies, and Silicon Valley firms. Yi He’s appearance places Binance alongside some of the world’s most established financial institutions and highlights how crypto executives are increasingly being viewed as influential corporate leaders rather than outsiders to traditional finance.

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