Binance Co-CEO Yi He: From Rural China to Crypto Industry Titan

Yi He is a name that may not be as well-known to the millions of people who use Binance, but she has been instrumental in driving its rise from a small exchange to a global blockchain business. As Co-CEO, Yi oversees HR, marketing, communications, and customer support for more than 2,000 employees, roughly a third of Binance's workforce.

Born in rural Sichuan Province in western China, Yi grew up in a family where education was a rare privilege. Her parents, both primary school teachers, borrowed money to fund her studies. She recalled that her father not only expected high academic performance but also sent her to training school to study ink wash painting.

In 2013, Yi encountered Bitcoin and was 'overwhelmingly enlightened.' This sparked a decision to quit her job as a television anchor and join the blockchain industry. Her working life began humbly, with weekends spent promoting soft drinks outside a supermarket, where she became the top promotion leader within two months.

A detour into television followed, where Yi was nominated for hosting roles almost by chance and spent two years traveling China as a TV presenter. She co-founded OKCoin in 2014, growing its market share in China by 60 percent during a bear market. There, she worked with CZ Zhao, who left the company in 2015.

Yi later served as Vice President at Yixia Technology, a mobile video company behind apps like Miaopai, leading branding and marketing efforts that helped drive the firm's valuation past $3 billion. She joined Binance in 2017, where she took on marketing and growth while CZ focused on technology.