Yi He, a co-founder of the besieged digital-currency empire Binance, has managed to stay out of the global spotlight for six years and counting, even as governments intensify their crypto clampdown. As one of the most powerful players in the $1.2 trillion industry, she has much to lose as the regulatory onslaught deepens, causing an existential crisis for the world’s largest exchange.
Yi He was instrumental to Binance’s meteoric rise, having successfully marketed it across media platforms. Now she is confronting the most dangerous moment in the firm’s history. US financial watchdogs have accused Binance of operating illegally, violating trading rules and falling short on compliance, and the company faces scrutiny elsewhere from France to Australia.
Yi He and CEO and co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao have billions at stake, as they are both early shareholders in the company. They have also been partners in business and in life, and have children together.
In a series of interviews with Bloomberg, Yi He sought to convey two key messages. First, Binance and regulators may not be so far apart. Second, the company is far from the villain critics make it out to be. She said that if regulators took the time to understand the industry, they would see that if Binance isn’t compliant, then practically no other global trading platform or offshore company is.
In response to the latest US allegations, Yi He struck a more conciliatory tone. “We respect the attitude of regulators, whether it supports or opposes the development of crypto. I understand that the overall intention of regulation is good in order to protect investors.”
Yi He has vast clout across the exchange, overseeing Binance Labs, the venture capital fund, and supervising the institutional client business and acquisitions like CoinMarketCap. She also helps rewrite parts of the white paper for Binance’s initial coin offering.
Though she and Zhao have set down roots in Dubai, the city-state the firm has adopted as its home, they have sought to play down connections to China, where a crypto trading ban is in force.
Yi He did not respond to claims from the SEC that market makers affiliated with CZ traded on Binance, that those firms used wash trading to pump up volumes and that client funds have been commingled and transferred in and out of various accounts. Instead, she emphasized that Binance has not touched user funds for its own purposes or used its native BNB token as collateral for loans.
When asked about Binance without her and Zhao, Yi He said they each have backup executives in training, though she declined to name them. She said, “We’re not single points of failure. I think we’ll be fine.”
Speculation is intensifying that a post-Zhao era is coming. As scrutiny on the business of crypto grows, Binance has sought to reform its image by beefing up its compliance staff. But there are signs its loyal fanbase is starting to crack in the wake of US allegations.
Yi He first broke into the crypto scene at the OKCoin exchange in 2014, when China was its center. She hired Zhao as chief technology officer, based on his years of engineering trading systems, and later agreed to join Binance when Zhao asked her to be a consultant for the firm in 2017.
With the trend of regulations inevitable globally, Yi He said it’s not something that can be solved by shouting “fight” a few times. She also pointed out that her status as a crypto pioneer predates CZ’s, and that bringing him to Binance was based on the achievements she had already established.
Yi He and Zhao have children together, though she demurred when asked how she would describe their relationship. She said, “What do they call it in the entertainment industry? CP?”
Yi He emphasizes the differences between her situation and FTX’s. She said, “There is a significant distinction here: Caroline was an employee, whereas I am a partner
