Can you imagine? In the 1980s, He Yi was just a little girl from a small mountain village in Sichuan, having to walk several kilometers to fetch water from a well, and sometimes her family could only rely on a kerosene lamp for lighting. Now, she is the co-founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, holding 10% of the shares, with a fortune worth billions of dollars, and millions of fans in China.
But don't think that her life has been smooth sailing; this road has been quite bumpy.
Coming from a poor rural village, she never lacked empathy.
He Yi experienced hardships from a young age: losing her father at 9, and at 16, she sold drinks at the entrance of a supermarket to make a living. When she first stepped into the library in college, she remembers being as excited as if she had won the lottery.
He Yi started learning English late, around the age of 35, but in just a few years, she could respond fluently during Zoom interviews. She places great importance on communication and user experience: every new employee at Binance must first work a few weeks on the customer service front line to personally feel user pain points.
It is precisely because of such experiences that she can understand Binance's ordinary users: once, a university student accidentally transferred $500 worth of cryptocurrency to the wrong wallet and almost lost everything. He Yi personally stepped in to help him recover his funds, and the student was moved to tears: 'It might be small money for you, but it’s everything for me.'
She also emphasizes that new employees at Binance must first work on the customer service front line to personally understand user needs. He Yi says directly: 'You have to first experience what ordinary users feel.'
Some compare her to American singer Jennifer Lopez (the street girl Jenny) — coming from humble beginnings but always staying grounded.
The behind-the-scenes queen: the invisible operator of Binance.
In 2017, when Zhao Changpeng (CZ) founded Binance, He Yi had already been in the crypto field for many years.
Zhao Changpeng (CZ) is the focus of public attention — daring and active in the crypto community, shaping the CZ myth. He Yi, on the other hand, made countless key decisions behind the scenes; she not only laid the foundation for Binance but also took charge of aggressive promotional strategies, leading to explosive growth for the platform.
The two once worked together at OKCoin and fell in love, then became business partners, being parents to children and jointly building the Binance empire, coordinating seamlessly at work. Zhao Changpeng is responsible for product and strategy, while He Yi oversees operations and customer experience, much like Sheryl Sandberg working with Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook.
He Yi and CZ share similar backgrounds: coming from rural areas and rising through hard work and courage. She would even tell those who criticize her, 'That's right, I didn't come from a good background, but I've made a name for myself. Why can't you?'
Even though there are many discussions about her private life, He Yi emphasizes: 'My personal life is completely independent of my professional identity. People always get tangled up in private matters, but they overlook my contributions to Binance.'
In a year of crisis, she carried Binance.
In 2023, Binance faced intense regulatory pressure in the U.S. and the aftermath of the FTX collapse. Ultimately, Binance paid a fine of $4.3 billion, and Zhao Changpeng resigned as CEO. That year, there were rumors that U.S. regulators even requested He Yi to resign.
But Binance did not collapse, and He Yi did not step back; she continued to control important company decisions — especially all matters related to customer experience were ultimately decided by her. Now, under Richard Teng's leadership, Binance has introduced a board system and strengthened compliance, still ranking first in global trading volume.
The approach of the people's queen: customer first + extreme execution.
He Yi insists on a 'founder culture': maintaining the initial entrepreneurial spirit and staying close to user feedback. She listens directly to user feedback on Telegram, X, and WeChat, sometimes personally stepping in to solve problems.
Binance employees describe her as strict yet supportive of employees, and she is known for her righteousness. Binance's global share still stands at 39%, proving that her strategies can withstand scrutiny.
He Yi is confident about the future of cryptocurrency: stablecoins and blockchain technology will accelerate the penetration of traditional finance, and in the next 5-10 years, traditional finance and the crypto world will fully integrate.
From drawing water from a well to becoming a billionaire.
He Yi's life is like a crypto version of a 'from street girl to queen' story. She puts it simply: 'Since I said it’s good, I won’t say it hurts.'
For friends in the crypto circle, her story is not only inspirational but also a living textbook of industry insights: adhering to user supremacy, daring to take risks, and mastering operations are the true secret weapons of the exchange.
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