Who is He Yi?
When it comes to Binance, everyone immediately thinks of CZ Zhao Changpeng. However, pulling the camera back reveals another key figure who has always been at the forefront, engaging with users and planning the brand ecosystem behind the scenes—He Yi.
He Yi is one of the co-founders of Binance, responsible for brand marketing for many years. Since 2022, she has been the core decision-maker leading the investment department of YZi Labs. Binance's official materials designate her as CMO and head of Labs, and in recent months, she has been referred to in the crypto circle as "the first sister of the crypto world" and "the queen of crypto," highlighting her significant role in the Binance ecosystem.
However, the story of this multi-billion dollar industry leader begins in a poor rural area of Sichuan in the 1980s. This article will take readers through the secrets of He Yi's family background and growth process, exploring the journey of this key figure in Binance, how she rose from rural Sichuan to become a leading figure in the crypto world, and her profound impact on Binance's users, brand, and global regulation.
He Yi's Career Development
Childhood Education: The Survival Instinct of a Poor Farm Girl
He Yi was born in 1986 in a poor rural area of Sichuan. Her original name was He Ying, which she later changed to He Yi. Both of her parents were village teachers with meager incomes. The family only had kerosene lamps for lighting and often struggled to make ends meet. As a young child, she not only had to cook with firewood at home but also fetch water from the well. The loss of her father when she was nine years old made her childhood even more difficult. Watching her mother support the family alone, she understood that "if you don't change your fate, no one will do it for you."
During her middle school years, He Yi used her spare time to sell beverages and bedding in town, supporting herself through odd jobs while cultivating her resilient character and sales skills. She consistently ranked first in her class throughout middle school and completed her undergraduate studies in media studies and graduate studies in psychology with scholarships. This experience fostered her keen understanding of human nature, and this arduous survival instinct laid the foundation for her later ability to cope with public opinion and regulatory pressure.
Media Years: Learning Brands Through the Lens
After graduating from university, He Yi entered the media industry and became a program host. During the process of hosting various types of programs, she hosted "Beijing New Discovery" and "Beautiful Destination" on Beijing TV and Travel Channel, subverting the impression of tourism programs as "pretty faces" - He Yi dared to catch stingrays and swallow live insects in front of the camera, just to make the program "adventures with human touch".
Through her experience in the media, He Yi learned how to attract viewers' attention, how to express confidence in front of the camera, and became more familiar with public relations, brand management, and media operations. These experiences have become core skills for her future marketing strategies in the crypto industry.
At the time, she never imagined that she would step into the unknown world of encryption.
My First Encounter with Blockchain: OKCoin and My Meeting with CZ
In 2013, when Bitcoin had just broken through $1,000, He Yi was approached by investor Mai Gang who was promoting it. At first, she thought cryptocurrency was just a speculative ghost story. But when she carefully read the white paper and discovered the wonders of cryptocurrency, and the logic of borderless instant transfers without approval, it immediately broke through the limitations of her rural upbringing.
She resolutely joined OKCoin, a startup that had been established for less than a year, as a co-founder and vice president of marketing, responsible for marketing and brand public relations. At that time, OKCoin did not have a spare marketing budget, so He Yi used a meager amount of money to charter a fleet of taxis in Yancheng and change the advertisements on the roof of the taxis to "Buy Bitcoin with your mobile phone". She also risked everything on Times Square in New York, renting a large screen in the square and displaying the words "Bitcoin changes the world" in large Chinese characters in the neon lights of Manhattan all night. That night, OKCoin's trading volume increased dozens of times. This is the road to fame for OKX, which is now the second largest exchange.
In the same year that He Yi worked at OKCoin, she heard a Chinese-Canadian engineer at a cryptocurrency technology sharing session talk eloquently about cold wallet risk control. That man was none other than CZ Changpeng Zhao, the driving force behind Binance. After the sharing session, He Yi went down to the stage and asked CZ, "Exchanging business cards? How about exchanging our future?"
That evening, He Yi invited CZ to join OKCoin as Chief Technology Officer. This experience not only allowed her to accumulate experience in operating large-scale crypto businesses, but also laid the groundwork for her future collaboration with CZ in building the Binance empire. He Yi demonstrated strong marketing capabilities at OKCoin, driving brand promotion and quickly attracting users to the exchange, which laid the groundwork for her later success.
He Yi's experience is reminiscent of many co-founders of tech giants; she is not only a technology driver but also a bridge between the market and users. Her early career was filled with elements of going from poverty to success, just as she quoted Xi Murong: "Since you've said it's good, don't talk about the pain." This perfectly encapsulates her attitude towards life's trials.
He Yi's turning point at Binance: a white paper and 200,000 $BNB tokens
He Yi's opportunity with Binance: OKCoin's internal power struggle
He Yi's move to Binance can be traced back to a cryptocurrency sharing conference in 2014. At the time, she was the Marketing Director at OKCoin, where she met CZ Zhao Changpeng, the Chief Technology Officer of a cryptocurrency wallet company. CZ's views on cryptocurrency at the conference left a deep impression on He Yi, and she extended an invitation to CZ to join OKCoin as Chief Technology Officer. The two began working together, getting to know each other, and falling in love. Their collaboration not only allowed them to accumulate experience but also enabled them to share a passion for cryptocurrency.
At the time, OKCoin had a tough management style, and CZ disagreed with OKCoin founder Xu Mingxing, leading to an internal power struggle. He Yi and CZ both left their former employer. While fulfilling her non-compete clause, He Yi joined Yixia Technology and built the wildly popular short video app "Yizhibo" from scratch. To boost the platform's traffic, He Yi invited 120 celebrities to participate in live streams overnight. She kept in mind the "celebrity halo" leverage she learned during her media career, even though the traffic itself was not loyal, she was willing to create a persona that would keep people engaged.
In 2017, amidst the surge of the crypto boom, CZ designed the technical framework of Binance in July of that year. However, he struggled with the lack of a clear brand identity. Naturally, CZ thought of his former partner, He Yi, and immediately invited her to join Binance. Upon her return, He Yi changed the title and removed technical jargon from the original white paper, completing the now-famous Binance white paper in just 48 hours. The two reunited to co-found the world's largest crypto exchange.
He Yi's role at Binance
After joining Binance, He Yi played a diverse and crucial role. She was not only a co-founder of Binance, but also served as the Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Customer Service Officer. At Binance, she was responsible for marketing, customer service, operations oversight, and investment, much like Sheryl Sandberg's relationship with Facebook, assisting CZ in leading Binance's product development.
On August 8, 2017, He Yi used her life savings of 1 million RMB to purchase 200,000 $BNB tokens at a price of $0.15 per token, becoming a co-founder. When $BNB's price fell below its initial offering price on its first day of listing, He Yi said in a live broadcast: "If I, as the founder, am afraid of the price drop, I don't deserve to stand here!" Three weeks later, $BNB's price increased more than 20 times, and that live broadcast became the opening line of faith for the Binance community.
He Yi poured all her communication and marketing experience from her career into Binance, hosting 24/7 AMAs, giving away luxury cars during the initial listing period, and establishing the Binance Angel Volunteer System, allowing volunteers worldwide to address the questions of crypto novices. He Yi oversaw brand promotion, public relations strategy, and community management within her departments and projects. She arranged for every senior Binance executive to undergo three weeks of customer service work before taking office, including herself. He Yi believed that directly facing customers was the only way to truly understand user needs and better convey Binance's "customer-first" philosophy, enabling Binance to become one of the world's top exchanges in less than a year after its listing.
In 2022, He Yi also took on the role of Binance Labs, Binance's investment arm. In 2025, she renamed it YZi Labs, leading the investment and incubation of multiple Web3 projects. Binance became a capital platform jointly led by CZ and He Yi, clearly separating investment strategies from the daily operations of the exchange. He Yi was able to act as the brand helmsman of Binance and extend the front line in the primary market and Binance's industrial layout.
He Yi's move to Binance was not just a career choice, but also a gamble on the future of crypto. Her collaboration with CZ helped Binance emerge from chaos and become the world's leading crypto exchange.
He Yi's influence: her position within Binance and the cryptocurrency community.
He Yi's contribution to Binance
He Yi's contributions to Binance are undeniable. She not only promoted brand and marketing strategies but also excelled in user strategies. Through giveaways and collaborations with KOLs, she gradually promoted Binance and successfully marketed $BNB, making it the third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. She emphasized the "founder culture" prevalent in the tech industry and maintained the drive of the early days, allowing Binance to grow from a peripheral product into the preferred trading platform for 300 million users today.
He Yi's community management style has made her widely popular in the Chinese community, with many followers calling her the "Queen of Crypto". He Yi translates the difficult concepts of compliance, product iteration, and community language into daily routines that users can understand and are willing to participate in. When Binance faced difficulties in regulation and CZ's imprisonment, He Yi chose to respond directly and frankly. Since joining Binance, she has always adhered to the principle of "user first", which has become the key to Binance's ability to maintain its leading position in China during the period of crypto bans and high regulation.
Ecosystem Planning: BSC Landscape and YZi Labs
He Yi's influence is closely linked to Binance's overall development. Binance's expansion is not just the success of a single CEX. In 2020, He Yi persuaded the team to launch Binance Smart Chain, locking transaction fees to below $0.1. At that time, Ethereum's gas was too high, and thousands of projects switched to the BSC chain. TVL quickly exceeded $6 billion within a year, and by October of this year, during the BSC Memecoin craze, BSC TVL reached a record high of $9.11 billion.
From the Binance exchange to the BSC ecosystem, both play a crucial role. With the iterative launch of BSC and Binance's peripheral products, Binance has entered the DeFi and NFT fields, gradually growing into a composite ecosystem of "exchange + public chain + peripheral services," forming a positive cycle of exchange-public chain-ecosystem. Resources are used to incubate projects and develop products within the ecosystem, using the public chain to connect developers and users, while the exchange provides liquidity and a compliant market.
After 2025, YZi Labs transformed into an independent capital platform, extending into cutting-edge cross-sectors such as AI and RWA. In recent years, it has launched products such as Binance Wallet and Binance Alpha that connect the primary and secondary markets, further strengthening the innovation and long-term sustainability of the BSC ecosystem.
BSC Meme Season: A single reply triggers a 6000-fold increase.
Recently, He Yi and CZ sparked a wave of "meme replies" on Twitter, starting with He Yi's reply to a tweet from Twitter KOL Chen Jian (Jason) on October 4th: "Your personality is so insightful, it's practically Binance thinking. I wish you hold BNB, drive a Binance car, live in a Binance community, and enjoy a Binance life." This short sentence ignited a meme storm, giving rise to the meme coin $BinanceLife, with a market capitalization of $500 million, which saw a 6000-fold increase within a week. CZ's related reply also fueled the trend, subsequently spawning several meme coins such as $4 and $Customer Service Xiao He, which saw hundreds of times growth. $BinanceLife was even the first Chinese meme token to be listed on Binance's perpetual contracts.
From opposing memes to understanding them, and even jokingly saying "I am the Joker," Binance has strengthened community cohesion through its understanding of the evolution of meme culture. It also launched the MemeRush feature on Binance Wallet, allowing users to launch various tokens exclusively through the Binance Wallet, sparking a BSC meme craze and driving BNB to a new all-time high!
Some people say that He Yi unintentionally manipulated the market, to which He Yi replied: "Memes are a people's carnival, not anyone's conspiracy. If a single sentence can ignite market enthusiasm, it means that people crave to be seen."
Regulation and Challenges: How to Address Global Risks?
Binance's Global Regulatory Landscape – A Test of Strength in the Storm: The 2023 Regulatory Tsunami
2023 was a year of bloodshed and tears for He Yi and Binance. On June 5th of that year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed 13 civil charges against Binance and Changpeng Zhao, covering violations such as not being a registered securities exchange or broker, and misleading statements regarding U.S. user protection measures. Then, on November 21st, the Department of Justice (DOJ) levied the largest fine in Binance's history, exceeding $4.3 billion, accusing Binance of violating the Bank Secrecy Act, allowing funds from terrorists and cybercriminals to flow through the platform, and deliberately circumventing regulations on users on the sanctions list.
He Yi did not remain silent in the face of this existential crisis. In an interview with Bloomberg in June of that year, she defended Binance for the first time as a senior executive, emphasizing that Binance's size and compliance efforts made it a target for regulators, but that it was more competitive in the long run. She also wrote on Binance's official website, "If a girl in a mountain village can carry water to school, we can also carry this fine." This statement became the team's pillar of support as they weathered the regulatory crisis.
When CZ pleaded guilty and resigned as CEO in November 2023, He Yi resolutely chose to stay and lead a 280-person compliance and customer service team for a complete restructuring, establishing an independent board of directors and hiring former Singaporean regulatory official Richard Teng to succeed him as CEO. Facing predictions that Binance would collapse, she posted on social media: "Every battle is a matter of life and death; the only thing that can defeat us is ourselves."
UK CFA Complete Blockade
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) imposed an earlier and more thorough ban. After issuing a consumer warning to Binance in June 2021, the FCA officially revoked all licenses of Binance's UK subsidiary in June 2023, prohibiting it from engaging in any regulated activities in the UK. This meant that Binance had to completely withdraw from the UK market, unable to accept new users and suspend fiat currency deposit and withdrawal services. This was undoubtedly a further blow to the SEC sanctions imposed in the same year.
He Yi's strategy was to "acknowledge the problems and rebuild trust." Instead of confronting regulators, she proactively shut down the relevant services and launched the "UK Rebuild" page to detail the compliance improvement measures. In her AMA, He Yi admitted, "Our large size reduces efficiency," but consistently regarded compliance investment as a necessary long-term moat. This honest communication style earned her recognition even from critics for her transparency.
African legal battle in Nigeria
Global sanctions against Binance followed one after another, the most complex being the Nigerian case in February 2024, which involved multiple lawsuits concerning economic losses, tax disputes, and money laundering allegations. Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla were detained in Lagos, and the Nigerian government accused Binance of operating without a license, causing $79.5 billion in economic losses, and owing $2 billion in taxes.
Instead of openly confronting the Nigerian government, He Yi opted for a low-key approach and cooperation. Binance suspended trading services in Nigeria in March 2024 while negotiations continued through diplomatic channels. When Tigran Gambaryan was released in October 2024, He Yi expressed her gratitude for everyone's efforts on social media, but avoided making statements that could escalate the conflict. Subsequently, in November 2025, when the Nigerian government accused Binance of soliciting a $50 million bribe, she remained restrained, only issuing an official statement denying the allegations, demonstrating her public relations skills during this crisis.
The 2025 flash crash crisis turned into an opportunity.
The market crash on October 11th this year became the perfect stage to showcase He Yi's crisis management skills. That night, affected by macroeconomic news such as the US tariff threat against China, the global cryptocurrency market experienced a massive liquidation of approximately $20 billion. Binance experienced a technical glitch as a result, causing packaged assets such as $wBETH to plummet from $3800 to $430, $BNSOL to $34.9, and $USDe to de-peg to $0.65.
At 21:43 UTC that day, He Yi quickly issued an apology statement on X: "Due to the sharp fluctuations in the market, some users have encountered problems, and I sincerely apologize... We will review and provide compensation..." This statement received more than 4 million views. Within 48 hours of the statement, Binance confirmed its case review mechanism and paid $283 million in compensation to users on October 14, setting a record for the largest single voluntary compensation in history. This public relations handling demonstrated her influence and action.
In a subsequent Binance Square post, He Yi emphasized, "Binance will take responsibility for the losses directly caused to the platform." This "compensate first, then review" strategy effectively resolved user anger and demonstrated Binance's core user-centric strategy to the world.
He Yi's Role and Strategies in Public Relations – Public Relations Philosophy: Empathy and Iron Fist Go Hand in Hand
He Yi adheres to three core principles when dealing with crisis public relations:
1. Admit your mistakes first, then try to gain their trust.
Whether it's a DOJ fine, a UK ban, or a flash crash, she always chooses to apologize first rather than shirk responsibility. This approach stems from the simple values she developed growing up in a mountain village: "If you do something wrong, admit it; if you get punished, stand up straight."
2. User-first compensation strategy
He Yi once personally recovered $500 that a college student had mistakenly transferred to her account, explaining that "to her, $500 was just a number, but to that student it represented a semester's living expenses." He Yi's empathy was amplified during the 10/11 crash into a $283 million compensation plan, transforming the crisis into brand confidence assets.
3. Transparent communication and long-termism
In her AMA in February 2025, He Yi proactively disclosed that she had conducted internal investigations into more than 120 cases of employee misconduct over the past two years, dismissed 60 employees, recovered $30 million in illegal proceeds, and voluntarily submitted the findings to the DOJ and CFTC. This proactive transparency earned her recognition from regulatory agencies.
Compliance Reconstruction: From Skepticism to Acceptance in the Community
He Yi knew that public relations skills alone could not solve regulatory issues; a systemic reform was necessary. This led to the strengthening of KYC and employee customer service internships, differentiating Binance from its competitors. This year, a formal board of directors was established, distributing power among different roles to reduce regulatory concerns.
When faced with audit orders from Australia and the UK, Binance submitted its audit firm nomination within 28 days, proactively cooperating with regulators. This demonstrated a responsible attitude in its apology and compensation, and the community's reaction gradually shifted from skepticism to acceptance.
Regulatory deregulation lifted: Data confirms success
The regulatory environment in 2025 saw a dramatic shift. On May 29th, the SEC, under new leadership, dropped all civil charges against Binance, marking the end of the Biden era's "regulatory enforcement" policy. On October 23rd, President Trump pardoned CZ, calling him a victim of "excessive enforcement" by the Biden administration. Since there were no identifiable victims, He Yi tweeted a celebratory message after CZ's pardon, emphasizing that Binance had become a "safe, transparent, and user-centric platform" and thanking the US regulatory environment for its improvement. He Yi's tweet was widely retweeted, reflecting the community's optimism about the shift in regulatory policy.
The regulatory storm has not destroyed Binance's market position. According to Coingecko data from June of this year, Binance still accounts for 39% of the trading volume share among centralized exchanges. He Yi attributes this to the success of its "customer first" strategy and the team's commitment to compliant investments.
The most important aspect of the regulatory challenge is that He Yi successfully turned the regulatory crisis into a competitive advantage. As she said in an interview with Fortune this year, "Making compliance a product is the best moat." Smaller exchanges that could not afford the costs of regulation gradually exited the market, while Binance gained a larger market share because of its early planning.
From a young girl carrying water in a mountain village in Sichuan to a crisis manager at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, He Yi, with her empathy, decisiveness, and long-term vision, not only helped Binance weather the regulatory winter but also redefined the relationship between the crypto industry and regulatory agencies. Under He Yi's leadership, "compliance" is no longer a burden but an essential path to a future billion users.
What is the significance of this for the crypto market, and why should we pay attention to it?
He Yi is an operator who "explains things clearly to people." She came from the broadcasting and media industry and is good at explaining the complex and abstract compliance and product risks of the crypto industry in layman's terms. This reduces panic during uncertain times and makes it clear to both retail and institutional investors what Binance is doing, thus driving Binance step by step to become the world's largest exchange.
He Yi represents innovation and resilience. She rose from poverty to become a leading female figure in the cryptocurrency exchange industry. With a user-centric approach, she drives the evolution of the cryptocurrency industry. By combining brand, capital, and community, she overturns the stereotypical concept of relying solely on technology and funds. She cleverly utilizes narrative capital to contribute to BSC and the broader Web3 ecosystem. She is a key figure and benchmark in the cryptocurrency industry.
He Yi symbolizes the rise of women in the technology and finance industries. She has brought crypto from the margins to the mainstream, investing over $1 billion through YZi Labs to support hundreds of projects and influence the Web3, AI, and RWA fields. She is one of the few female leaders who can stand at the forefront through both bull and bear cycles in crypto. This is not just a symbol of gender, but also an ability to find solutions amidst contradictions. He Yi communicates with regulators, interacts with the community, and simultaneously manages risk and innovation. He Yi's existence provides crypto exchanges with a perfect paradigm for "depersonalization and institutionalization."
He Yi's 2025: Latest Developments Eight Years Later
In 2025, He Yi continued to be active in Binance and the cryptocurrency circle. Although CZ was away from Binance's daily operations due to litigation, he and He Yi were still regarded as the "Binance dual core". The two often retweeted each other on Twitter and used "Binance life" as their signature. Their main activities this year are as follows.
Investment portfolio upgrade:
This year, Binance Labs officially changed its name to YZi Labs, with its investment department clearly moving towards independent operation and expanding its investment reach to interdisciplinary fields such as AI and biotechnology. It is also referred to by outsiders as a "family office" jointly owned by CZ and He Yi.
Community narrative meme trends:
$1 Binance Life: Memecoin's market value surged by hundreds of millions of dollars in just a few days due to her few replies to CZ, leading to the BNB Chain Meme Season.
Regulatory litigation:
In late May of this year, the U.S. SEC's lawsuit against Binance was dismissed by the court, marking a significant step in Binance's compliance rectification efforts.
Public Communication:
In her lengthy articles, He Yi repeatedly emphasized compliance, risk education, and "fairness," especially during the meme craze, when she repeatedly reminded readers that "replying is not the same as endorsing."
In a recent live stream celebrating Binance's 8th anniversary, He Yi announced that Binance's cumulative trading volume had exceeded $125 trillion and mentioned the ten-year plan for an "on-chain AI economy." She likened her growth trajectory to a moat that stretched from a mountain village in Sichuan to an international financial center, and quoted Xi Murong's poem: "Since I said it was good, I won't say it hurts." She has fulfilled her promise to herself, to Binance, and to the crypto industry.
Conclusion: He Yi is the key figure leading the Binance ecosystem after CZ.
Looking back on He Yiyi's career trajectory, she went from a poor rural girl to a front-line media professional, and from an entrepreneur to the co-founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. At Binance, she tied the three things together: brand, users, and investment, and fulfilled the principle of "user-centric & compliance first". With her more than 30 years of career, she proved that empathy and iron-fisted KPIs can coexist, and has pushed Binance step by step to become the world's largest exchange.
When Binance faced global regulatory and public pressure, He Yi chose to respond directly, allocating Binance resources towards compliance. When market sentiment focused on the blockchain, she also knew how to channel community energy back into building the ecosystem through engaging topics and content. He Yi's relationship with CZ has evolved from entrepreneurial partners to ecosystem co-governance. Driven by both brand and capital, she has established herself as the "new queen" of the Binance and BSC ecosystem.
Although some predict that the next bull market will no longer have a single hero like Trump or CZ, but only a collaborative narrative, He Yi has already written herself into the script of the next bull market. If new people join the crypto market in the future, the first story they will hear will probably still be "Have a Binance Life".