Key Takeaways:
- Binance co-founder and co-CEO Yi He was the first crypto-native executive to be added to the Fortune list of the Most Powerful Women in Business.
- Fortune featured Yi He’s contribution to Binance staying the globe’s prime crypto exchange amid a huge turmoil.
- The recognition is another indication that crypto companies are increasingly adopted into the mainstream global finance landscape.
Binance recently took a giant step further in its efforts to achieve gender parity in its leadership team by having its co-founder and co-CEO, Yi He, make it onto Fortune’s Most Powerful Women in Business list. This is the first year that a crypto-native executive has to make an appearance on the tally, which indicates broader legitimacy of the digital asset business sector within mainstream business institutions.
We’re incredibly proud to see @heyibinance recognized in @FortuneMagazine’s Most Powerful Women in Business list. 👏
Yi’s vision and leadership have helped shape Binance, and her inclusion marks the first time a crypto-native executive has been named to this iconic list.
— Binance (@binance) May 27, 2026
Fortune Highlights Yi He’s Influence at Binance
Binance explains that the addition of Yi He is due to her long-lasting influence on the company’s development, strategy, and spread across the world. Fortune said that she was one of the “big people behind the growth of Binance into being the biggest crypto exchange by trading volume and user counts.”
During one of the most difficult moments in Binance’s history, she led the organization, the publication noted. Binance has changed to comply after CEO Changpeng Zhao stepped down due to the company’s $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities, and the firm’s CEO is now Yi He, with Richard Teng serving as a co-CEO.
Interested in obtaining more power in the crypto space, Yi He’s reputation may already be established as “the most powerful woman in crypto” before she officially becomes Binance co-CEO in late 2025 as quoted in Fortune.
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From Rural China to Crypto Billionaire
Yi He’s tale is even bigger than the crypto space. She had the misfortune of having a very rural village in Sichuan province where access to electricity and running water was not consistent. She had been doing a number of occupations in her personal life and then became a Chinese TV anchor before she entered the crypto world.
Inside Binance, Yi He became known for aggressively focusing on customer experience and community engagement. Former employees and executives have repeatedly described her as one of the main forces behind Binance’s rapid early growth.
Binance Expands Beyond Trading
The gesture comes as Binance expands its operations from spot trading. The company has been expanding its payment, institutional, stablecoin and web3 infrastructure offerings.
In the official statement, Binance reported that it was used for approximately $34 trillion in trading volume during 2025, and $145 trillion for the cumulative lifetime trading volume.
The crypto industry is transitioning to the mainstream of global finance, not the fringe of the financial system, Yi He said. She also repeated Binance’s vision of providing financial access to the unbanked with blockchain solutions in the long run.
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