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…