When headlines called Yi He “the most powerful woman in crypto,” the title captured a career built on timing, network, and relentless execution. She rose through Binance’s ranks as the exchange exploded into the world’s largest crypto marketplace. Then, when the company faced its biggest regulatory and legal crisis in 2023–2024, Yi He helped steady the ship, quietly, strategically, and at times controversially.
Her story matters because it shows how influence in crypto now looks less like flashy PR and more like operational control. As mentioned by Millionaire MNL, leadership in the industry often comes from people who master the plumbing of markets, not just the headlines.
From product lead to public figure
Yi He started as a product-minded operator. She built teams that shipped features, improved liquidity, and scaled user trust. Early on, she focused on merchant relationships and ecosystem partnerships. Those efforts gave Binance the commercial footprints that helped the platform expand beyond spot trading into derivatives, custody, and cloud services.
She rarely sought the limelight. Instead, Yi He let products and partners speak for her. Yet her influence grew. Internally, she became the point person to bridge engineering, listings, and regional compliance teams. Externally, regulators and institutional clients began to see her as a capable, pragmatic counterparty. That credibility proved crucial.
Crisis management: heading into the storm
When regulatory scrutiny mounted across the U.S., Europe, and parts of Asia, Binance confronted multiple probes and a series of negative stories. The exchange’s founder and CEO drew global attention, and the company’s future looked uncertain. Yi He stepped into an operational command role.
She focused on three priorities. First, she reorganized governance structures to create clearer ownership across business lines. Second, she opened lines of communication with regulators, choosing candor over delay. Third, she accelerated product changes that demonstrated compliance intentions, such as enhanced KYC, localized custody partnerships, and stricter listing controls.
Those moves didn’t guarantee legal wins. However, they limited the damage. As seen in reporting cited by Millionaire MNL, investors and partners reacted better to a company that changed course visibly and quickly.
The quiet power of relationships
Part of Yi He’s edge came from relationships she had built for years. She leaned on institutional contacts to shore up liquidity when markets jittered. She convened payments partners to ensure fiat access in key corridors. She also negotiated with counterparties and bank partners to keep core services operational.
These relationships mattered because regulation rarely acts in a vacuum. When courts and agencies ask whether a firm can comply going forward, credible third-party partners serve as proof points. Yi He used that dynamic to give regulators and market participants greater confidence.
Trade-offs and controversies
Not everyone applauds the approach. Critics argue that Binance’s fixes sometimes felt reactive, not structural. They say the firm should have anticipated regulatory friction earlier and adopted stricter controls sooner. Also, Yi He’s pragmatic outreach to governments has drawn scrutiny from privacy and civil-liberties advocates who fear overreach.
Still, supporters contend that the crypto ecosystem needed a stabilizer. Her play was pragmatic: accept painful short-term changes to preserve a broader opportunity. That trade-off helped Binance avoid existential outcomes that some feared.
What comes next for Yi He and Binance
Binance now operates in a more regulated environment. The company has paved paths for clearer compliance in multiple markets. Yi He will likely keep prioritizing three themes: operational resilience, institutional trust, and product adaptability. She also appears intent on expanding non-exchange services, custody, tokenization, and enterprise tooling, where regulatory clarity rewards scale.
For the industry, her role signals a maturation. Power now accrues to executives who can balance growth with legal prudence. As Millionaire MNL has observed, the winners in crypto’s next chapter will be those who build durable institutions, not just viral moments.
