Meet the women behind the world’s largest crypto exchanges

Both former television hosts, Binance’s Yi He and Bitget’s Gracy Chen, currently lead the world’s largest crypto exchanges by volume.

It’s a little-known fact that women are behind two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. 

In a blog post published on May 21, Gracy Chen, formerly the managing director of crypto exchange Bitget, who now serves as the firm’s CEO, detailed her journey in leading an exchange that currently facilitates $4 billion in trading volume: 

“Raised by a single mom, I was expected simply to grow up happily. Like many Asian parents, she hoped that I would not be overly aggressive and that my greatest future task would be to find a life partner. However, from an early age, I was drawn to the idea of leading. Starting from primary school, I actively sought out every chance to be a leader. My desire to lead wasn’t about managing or commanding others, it was about creating more values.”

Chen described how at 18, she received a scholarship to study Applied Mathematics in Singapore and became a television host for a Chinese finance and technology program upon graduation, where she learned about Bitcoin (BTC), back then at $300, from her interviewees in 2015:

“I began by reading the Bitcoin white paper and was instantly hooked. As a mathematician, I loved the mathematical beauty of it. I was excited by how democratic the system was. Mostly, I was drawn to the way it established a new decentralized ledger that complements the traditional centralized financial industry.” 

Soon after, Chen left her TV work and co-founded two startups in fintech and virtual reality, while also simultaneously enrolling in an MBA at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: “What do you call an entrepreneur who fails? Serial entrepreneur. And that’s me!”

In the spring of 2022, Chen joined Bitget after seeing an opening role for a managing director. As its current CEO, she manages over 1,500 staff. 

Another such figure is He Yi, co-founder of iconic crypto exchange Binance. 

In 1986, Yi He was born into a family of teachers in the remote countryside of Sichuan Province in mainland China. Despite a simple upbringing and a relatively isolated childhood, Yi He quickly demonstrated an innate knack for learning, finishing top place in all of her school exams and using her spare time to read.

In her early adult years, Yi He left her birthplace to pursue a career in psychology in Beijing but quickly found that there were few prospects, as she recounted that, unlike now, people weren’t “interested in mental health” at the time. However, she developed the skills needed for communication and interactions, which became the cornerstone of her breakthrough in 2012 when she auditioned for a Chinese tourism TV program and landed the role. 

After traveling across the country as a TV host, in 2013, when Bitcoin was still trading at $1,100, Yi He met Star Xu, founder of Okcoin, now known as the OKX exchange, who was looking for a well-known influencer to promote the OKX brand. Having made a small fortune from the Chinese stock bull market of 2006 to 2008, Yi He became interested in the crypto space and, coupling it with her TV host experience, accepted an offer to become the vice president of OKcoin. 

Under Yi He’s leadership, OKX quickly became a leading exchange in mainland China. It was also during this time that Yi He introduced her future spouse, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who was a friend at the time, to fulfill the role of chief technology officer at Okcoin. 

Unfortunately, CZ reportedly had a tumulous relationship with Okcoin’s Star Xu, and by 2015, he had resigned from the firm. Yi He did not appear to have enjoyed being caught in the crossfire and, too, resigned the same year. For two years, Yi He remained in and out of the tech industry, when, by 2017, she had developed ambitions not just to operate a business within China but one with global influence. 

At about the same time, CZ had published his white paper envisioning a global crypto exchange, Binance, which he showed to Yi He. Having realized that CZ was the only person in her network who had the expertise and character to build an international exchange, Yi He quickly signed up for the challenging, co-founding Binance in June 2017. 

Fast-forward to today and Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange, with $36.5 billion in daily volume and $134.6 billion in total assets. Although CZ is no longer involved in Binance’s decision-making or operations, Yi He and its current CEO, Richard Teng, have since taken the reins, frequently sharing their outlook on the future of the crypto industry. 

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