It’s a little known fact that there are women behind two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
In a blog post published on May 21, Gracy Chen, a former managing director of cryptocurrency exchange Bitget who currently serves as the company’s CEO, detailed his journey leading an exchange that currently facilitates $4 billion in trading volume.
“Growing up with a single mother, I just wanted to grow up happy. Like many of her Asian parents, she hoped I wasn’t overly aggressive and thought her biggest future task would be to find a life partner for her. But from a young age, I was drawn to the idea of leading. Since elementary school, I have actively sought every opportunity to become a leader. “My desire to lead was not to manage or command others, but to create more value.”
Chen won a scholarship to study applied mathematics in Singapore at the age of 18, became a TV host on a Chinese finance and technology program after graduating, and explained that he learned about Bitcoin (BTC), which was then worth $300, from an interviewee in 2015. :
“I started reading the Bitcoin whitepaper and was immediately hooked. As a mathematician, I loved the mathematical beauty of the whitepaper. I was intrigued by how democratic the system was. Mostly, I was drawn to the way it built a new distributed ledger. “It complements the traditional centralized financial industry.”
Soon after, Chen quit his TV job and co-founded two startups in fintech and virtual reality while simultaneously enrolling in an MBA program at MIT. “What do you call a failed entrepreneur? Serial entrepreneur. “That’s me!”
In spring 2022, Chen joined Bitget in his first role as Managing Director. Currently, as CEO, she manages over 1,500 employees.
Another figure is He Yi, co-founder of the iconic cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
In 1986, Yi He was born into a family of teachers in a remote rural area of Sichuan Province in mainland China. Despite his simple upbringing and relatively isolated childhood, Yi He quickly demonstrated an innate ability to learn, coming first in all his school exams and spending his free time reading.
In early adulthood, Yi He left his birthplace to pursue a career in psychology, but quickly discovered that prospects were few, as he said people back then, unlike now, were not “interested in mental health.” However, she developed the necessary skills for communication and interaction, which became the cornerstone of her breakthrough in 2012 when she auditioned for a Chinese tourism television program and landed a role.
After traveling the country as a TV host, Yi He met Star Xu, founder of Okcoin, now known as the OKX exchange, in 2013 when Bitcoin was still trading at $1,100. OKX brand. After amassing a small fortune during the Chinese stock bull market from 2006 to 2008, Yi He became interested in the cryptocurrency space and, combining this with his experience as a TV presenter, accepted an offer to become OKcoin’s vice president.
Under Yi He’s leadership, OKX quickly became a major exchange in mainland China. It was also around this time that Yi He introduced his then-friend Changpeng “CZ” Zhao as his future spouse to fill the role of Okcoin’s CTO.
Unfortunately, CZ reportedly had a tumultuous relationship with Okcoin’s Star Xu, and he resigned from the company in 2015. Lee He also did not seem to enjoy being under fire, and resigned that same year. After moving in and out of the tech industry for two years, Yi He developed in 2017 the ambition to not only run a business within China, but also one with a global footprint.
At about the same time, CZ released a white paper envisioning a global cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, and showed it to Yi He. Realizing that CZ was the only one with the expertise and personality to build international exchanges on his network, Yi He quickly registered with Binance as a challenging co-founder in June 2017.
Today, Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, with daily trading volume of $36.5 billion and total assets of $134.6 billion. Although CZ is no longer involved in Binance’s decision-making or operations, Yi He and current CEO Richard Teng have taken over the position and have frequently shared their outlook on the future of the cryptocurrency industry.
Related: Women Achieving Massive Success in Crypto in 2023