Author: Jack , BlockBeats

In the past two days, a letter of appeal written to the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington has become particularly popular in the circle.

On April 30, Binance founder CZ will receive the final verdict in the court. According to the US sentencing guidelines, he faces a recommended sentence of 12 to 18 months, but there are also reports that he may face a sentence of 36 months in prison. On Tuesday, CZ submitted a letter to Judge Jones, who is in charge of the case, apologizing for his actions and believing that he should take full responsibility. In addition to CZ's letter, there are other letters of appeal from important figures such as family, friends, politicians, employees, etc., a total of 161 letters, of which He Yi's handwritten He Yi is the most eye-catching.

The entire letter is 3 pages long, and the words are filled with deep feelings for CZ and Binance. He Yi recalled the 10 years of ups and downs that he and CZ had experienced together in the industry, especially the 6 years of building Binance together. Some of the unknown little things are the epitome of CZ and Binance's behavior. Many industry veterans said on social media that they were deeply touched after reading it, and lamented that after so many years, "many things have changed, but Sister Yi is still your Sister Yi."

I remember one night in June last year, a message was sent in the editorial department’s WeChat group: “Sister Yi is very angry.”

On the same day, Bloomberg published an exclusive interview with He Yi. This was the first time that a mainstream Western financial media reported on the woman behind the billion-dollar unicorn in a full article. Chinese media compiled and forwarded it. The title of the interview article was " The most powerful woman in the crypto space speaks out during the Binance crisis ." After reading it carefully, people found that Bloomberg did not seem to recognize the "superpowers" that this "Binance woman" possessed and demonstrated in the crypto.

In the article, He Yi became a female executive who "has been avoiding the gaze of authority for six years" and is now "trapped in the crypto empire", and her influence on the crypto world is more derived from her dependence on CZ. Bloomberg even used the relationship between FTX founder SBF and its executive Caroline to hint at the legendary couple of the crypto, and did not comment on He Yi's statement that she "brought CZ into the circle" and "joined Binance based on her ability".

Earlier this month, the SEC sued Binance and Coinbase in succession, classifying several mainstream currencies as securities, and the crypto market fell into turmoil again. According to Nansen data, 24 hours after the news of the SEC's lawsuit was announced, a total of more than US$3 billion worth of crypto assets were withdrawn from Binance, with a net outflow of approximately US$1.43 billion. Subsequently, Binance.US was pursued again, and the SEC applied for asset freezing. It announced the delisting of multiple trading pairs within one day, and then news of the resignation of company executives was revealed one after another. Faced with the FUD brought about by the regulatory wave, He Yi immediately stood up and responded in the community.

Western media reported this bloody regulation vividly, and He Yi, who continued to speak out, became the first to be shot. In the interview article, Bloomberg made a big fuss about Binance Labs and the coin listing department led by He Yi, criticizing Binance for its chaotic management and lack of transparency compared to traditional finance. In Bloomberg's eyes, He Yi is Binance's "single point of failure" and the "shadow dictator" of the crypto market.

This is not the first time she has frequently appeared in the community this year. In May, Binance was severely criticized by the community for the poor quality and performance of the projects launched on Launchpad. Words such as "girlfriend coin" and "no cognition" can be found in almost every tweet related to Binance. During this period, He Yi responded to every tweet from early morning to one or two in the morning, and some even directly "battled online".

The last time He Yi had a public confrontation like this was 4 years ago. Newcomers who just entered the circle this year may think that He Yi has a bad temper when they see her on Twitter, but 4 years ago, Yi Jie would not tolerate your faults in the WeChat group at all, and she would not frown whether she was talking about reason or quarreling. In 2019, in order to promote Binance's newly launched contract products, He Yi quarreled with "friendly companies" such as Huobi and OK in the WeChat group. This scene is one of the few memories of many "old leeks in the crypto" in the extremely dull market that year.

Four years ago, He Yi was more influential than CZ in the crypto. But the Western media didn’t know this. CZ was the only “rock star” in their eyes. 90% of the reports about Binance only mentioned CZ. He Yi didn’t receive such treatment. As she didn’t speak English well, she began to retreat behind the scenes after Binance moved to the international market. No longer in the spotlight, He Yi gradually faded out of the media’s sight and was unknown to newcomers. But she was always the first to stand up when Binance encountered FUD and crisis, and used straightforward and courageous replies to remind everyone: In the crypto, you are still the number one.

The top crypto star

He Yi, whose original name was He Ying, was born in 1986 in a remote rural area of ​​Sichuan Province. Because both her parents were teachers, He Yi had already started first grade when her peers were still in kindergarten. At that time, He Yi was five years old and looked out of place on campus. She spent more time at home reading all kinds of books her parents had. But even though she couldn't play with her classmates, He Yi always got first place in exams.

11-year-old He Yi

At the age of 16, He Yi worked as a beverage promoter and earned 1,000 yuan a month. At the age of 18, she worked as a store manager for a home furnishings store for two months, managing accounts and people. In 2006, 20-year-old He Yi studied for a master's degree in psychological counseling in Beijing. After passing the qualification exam, she found that even the top psychological experts in China did not have a good living condition. "China's cultural attributes determine the limitations of psychotherapy, and it is difficult to develop to the same level of universal recognition as abroad in a short period of time."He Yi knows very well that where there are people, there is the world, and where there is the world, there is psychology. After working as an assistant psychological counselor for a while, He Yi dropped out and went to Lijiang alone.

It just so happened that the school where her friend worked was recruiting class teachers. There were no requirements, just the ability to endure hardships, so He Yi volunteered to go for the interview. After talking with the department head and the principal, He Yi became a university class teacher. She later recalled: "My sense of responsibility and my ability to manage and communicate with young people improved by leaps and bounds during that time." At that time, He Yi was managing students in the art department. Most of them were unruly, but they were convinced by He Yi. Once a student skipped class, He Yi kicked open the door of the boys' dormitory and dragged the student who was not attending class to the classroom.

"Spring Festival red envelopes, smecta!"

In 2012, He Yi's life reached its first turning point. A friend who was a director suggested that she try to be a host. In the final round of interviews, the sponsors and the management of the satellite TV program group asked the contestants to talk about their strengths. He Yi's original words were, "I have a background in psychology, so I have strong empathy and can communicate well with different people. I have learned makeup, so you can save the money of a makeup artist. I don't ask for anything in return, you can give me any amount of money."

In this way, she became the location host of "Beautiful Destinations" and "Go as Far as You Can" on Travel Satellite TV, and later went to Beijing Satellite TV to be the host of "Beijing New Discoveries". But TV station work is not all about spotlights and delicious food and beautiful scenery. Over the past year, she has traveled all over the country with the program, sometimes wading in knee-deep muddy water, or camping in heavy rain nights. Later, He Yi once again recalled her experience as a travel host on the show: "When I was circumambulating the mountains in Qinghai, there was no water, electricity, or signal. When it was getting dark, I lost the main group. I could hear wolves howling in the distance, and you could hear the creaking sound of snow melting on the snow-capped mountains nearby."

In fact, He Yi's courage and tenacity were already evident at this time. Of course, what made He Yi successful was not only her tenacity in desperate situations, but also her pursuits that she always insisted on. At that time, many popular hosts liked to hang out with directors or friends in the circle, but He Yi was not like that. She always hung out with people in the entrepreneurial circle, listening to them talk about investment, projects, and entrepreneurship every day. "What I really want to do is to start a business and create something different," she said in a later interview.

In November 2013, Bitcoin quickly fell after reaching $1,100. OKCoin, a newly established company, planned to organize a Bitcoin red envelope event during the Spring Festival to activate the market. At that time, OKCoin investor Mai Gang found He Yi and asked her if she could help send a red envelope and promote it for free in WeChat Moments. He Yi immediately searched for Bitcoin online. After some understanding, He Yi immediately sent a red envelope for OKCoin in WeChat Moments, leaving a message "Spring Festival red envelope, Smite!"

During the Spring Festival, in order to thank those who helped OKCoin distribute red envelopes, Mai Gang called everyone together and organized a gathering of Chinese young angels. At this gathering, He Yi met Star Xu, the founder of OKCoin, for the first time. The two talked about blockchain and Bitcoin at the gathering, and then Mai Gang suddenly said, "Mingxing, isn't your company looking for someone to do marketing? Isn't this just right?"Star Xu was in high spirits and invited He Yi to visit the company when he was free, and He Yi agreed.

The second week after the show, He Yi went to Star Xu's company. They had a brief chat downstairs. After Star Xu introduced the company and personal background to He Yi , he offered him a job with an annual salary of 400,000 yuan. He Yi , who was full of curiosity about this new world, accepted it on the spot. "I had a very happy chat with Lao Xu. He gave me an offer without even discussing the price. I reported to work after the Spring Festival."

So in March 2014, He Yi became the vice president of OKCoin, responsible for brand building and marketing. He Yi started with public relations, then planned events, and then took over customer service. He got the hang of the whole process very quickly.

In early 2014, 1Bit founder Chong Ge visited OK Coin. He later recalled the office environment of OK Coin at that time: "OK Group was in a simple office building. The office was a small mezzanine. There was a large plastic sign with the words OK EX on the door. At that time, Star Xu was upstairs and He Yi was downstairs. When she worked overtime, she liked to wear black clothes, like a big sister. They worked day and night."

According to many employees, He Yi led the team to reverse public relations crises many times during her tenure at OKCoin. He Yi was nicknamed "The Queen of Crypto". In her own words, "I asked myself what kind of person I want to be. I hope to be someone who influences the development of the world, or at least participates in the progress of society." Perhaps what attracted He Yi was not the cryptocurrency industry, but the sense of mission she had always given herself.

What really made most people know the OKCoin brand was He Yi participation in the Tianjin TV job search program "You Are the One". He Yi stepped in front of the camera again as a member of the "BOSS Team". Her sharp words and witty yet friendly personality made many people know her and OKCoin behind her.

In April 2015, under the leadership of He Yi, OK Coin played an advertisement on the main screen of Times Square in New York, USA, "Bitcoin is here, OK Coin is here, Everything will be OK!" The news was reported by People's Daily, and OK Coin's trading volume soared, successfully occupying 60% of the domestic Bitcoin trading volume.

Before this, OKCoin had already been exposed in China. In 2014, He Yi accepted interviews from magazines such as "Jiaren", "Caijing Tianxia Weekly", and "Blog China" on behalf of OKCoin. At the end of the year, OKCoin became the first cryptocurrency trading platform to be featured in the high-end magazine "Harper's Bazaar". The editor of the magazine used the term "OKCoin Team" to describe this unstoppable new force and gave it several full pages. At that time, OKCoin was called China's "most fashionable Internet financial company" by the media.

It is worth noting that in the OKCoin "group photo" published by Harper's Bazaar, there is one more person next to Star Xu. This is another great achievement of He Yi during his time at OKCoin, digging CZ to OKCoin.

In 2014, CZ was just a Canadian technical returnee, working as the technical director of the cryptocurrency market website Blockchain.info. Once, He Yi held an event for OKCoin in Hangzhou, and CZ was a guest. After listening to CZ's sharing, He Yi admired his talent very much, so he asked him for WeChat after the meeting. Later, He Yi wanted to advertise OKCoin on Blockchain.info, so he found CZ and asked for some discounts, but CZ told He Yi, "We don't offer discounts on our ads."He Yi, who was rejected, was more optimistic about CZ. He Yi believed that he did not let personal relationships affect his decision-making and was very professional. He then introduced CZ to Star Xu and pulled him into OKCoin.

CZ, who had just joined the company, did a very good job. In addition to being responsible for the infrastructure, custody and security of on-chain transactions, all product development was managed by CZ. Because of his good English, CZ was also responsible for overseas market promotion. In this way, the "crypto iron triangle" that resounded throughout the 14-year crypto industry was formed.

Of course, it now seems that this triangle is not so "iron". In the entrepreneurial circle, there is no room for two tigers in one mountain. CZ and Star Xu both have technical backgrounds, and they often disagree because of differences in decision-making logic and cultural background. At the end of 2014, CZ and his former employer Blockchain.info signed an agreement, stipulating that OKCoin would be responsible for the operation of the Bitcoin.com domain name for 5 years, and the advertising revenue of the website during this period would belong to OKCoin. However, due to poor operating results, OKCoin hoped to terminate the cooperation in advance. However, Roger Ver, the owner of Bitcoin.com, known as "Bitcoin Jesus", believed that OKCoin should pay compensation on a monthly basis, and the two sides broke out into an economic dispute that lasted for several months.

To Star Xu's surprise, CZ strongly sided with Roger Ver in this dispute, directly pointing out that OKCoin violated professional ethics and forged his signature to conduct bank transfers. Subsequently, OKCoin immediately issued a statement, saying that CZ not only forged the contract, but also fabricated lies to attack OKCoin. In the end, the verbal battle ended with OKCoin firing CZ. As the person who introduced CZ to join the company, He Yi was also caught in the middle of this debate and was in a dilemma. In the second half of 2015, He Yi bid farewell to OKCoin in a low-key manner.

"Starting over at 30"

After leaving OKCoin, He Yi only had 100,000 yuan in cash, except for some Bitcoins she held. During this period, many colleagues offered her olive branches, saying "you can ask for any salary you want", but He Yi, who had a non-compete agreement, decisively rejected them all. In fact, even after OKCoin achieved great success, many people still had the impression of He Yi as a "vase in the crypto". People invited He Yi to join their companies more because they were attracted by the name "He Yi".

But Zhang Ling, who was then an investment manager at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, saw He Yi build the OKCoin brand in less than a year. She thought He Yi had great potential, so she recommended her to Han Kun, the founder of Yixia Technology. At the end of 2015, Yixia Technology completed its Series D financing and received $200 million, but the company still did not have a marketing department. Han Kun invited He Yi to join Yixia Technology to coordinate the entire marketing business. Soon after, He Yi became the vice president of Yixia Technology, with an annual salary of one million and stock options.

"It's impossible to only want to reap without having to give. During the OKCoin period, I have been using the name He Yi to speak out and use the credit of this name to guarantee the company. After leaving, I hope to stand behind the scenes and use my professionalism to accomplish all strategic goals." After leaving OKCoin, He Yi also began to try behind-the-scenes work.

Many people may not know Yixia Technology, but the popular Yizhibo, Xiaokaxiu and Miaopai at the time were all its products, and the success of each of these products is directly related to He Yi. In 2016, Korean actor Song Zhongji became popular in China with "Descendants of the Sun". His influence and the huge fan base behind him are the big cake that every live broadcast platform covets. Yizhibo, led by He Yi, signed Song Zhongji among many cooperation invitations. A few months later, the number of video views on Song Zhongji's official account on Yizhibo exceeded 160 million, and the highest number of people online at the same time in a single live broadcast exceeded 3.5 million. Yizhibo became an instant hit.

Whether in the crypto or in Internet technology companies, the logic of the market and the logic of understanding users are interlinked, and He Yi has made perfect use of the constants in the industry changes. "Whether it is live broadcast, short video, or video, in fact, it is no longer fighting alone, but competing on the same starting line, which is called: seizing the user's time." As the company's vice president, He Yi personally led the team to fight in the live broadcast market, and single-handedly promoted the rise of Yizhibo, Miaopai, and Xiaokaxiu. Later, Yizhibo even became the preferred platform for crypto people to live broadcast.

One night in August 2017, "Second Master Bao" Guo Hongcai was doing a live broadcast on the Yizhibo platform when he suddenly shouted, "Welcome the beautiful He Yi back to the crypto!" The people who were watching the live broadcast were shocked and quickly opened the news, only to see the news that He Yi had resigned from Yixia Technology.

In 2017, when Yixia Technology was developing rapidly, He Yi decided to bid farewell to the company and her "boss" Han Kun. On August 8, she officially announced her farewell to Yixia Technology with a "resignation letter" titled " Starting over at the age of 30! " In the article, He Yi wrote: "I like to lead a group of people to conquer cities and ponds, I like the moment of celebrating victory, and I like watching my subordinates grow up and become independent. These are the things that make me happy." So, the number one sister in the crypto who had "disappeared" for two years decided to return in a high-profile manner, "reset everything and start from scratch", and once again joined hands with CZ to build Binance as CMO.

Many newcomers may not know the huge impact that the news of "the return of the first sister" had on the crypto at the time, but in a report from Jinse Finance, we can get a glimpse of it. The article begins like this:

"A few days ago, I heard that Binance (full name Binance blockchain asset trading platform) has a mysterious guest who will take up an important position. He is known as "an important entrepreneur in the technology circle and the behind-the-scenes promoter of many well-known Internet products"... I was really shocked when I saw the introduction of Binance's guessing event, and my mood also became tense."

In July 2017, Binance launched its own platform token BNB with an issue price of 1 yuan. But soon after the launch, BNB fell below the issue price, and one BNB was only worth 50 cents. Binance was badly criticized at the time. He Yi later recalled that it was the most stressful period for CZ, and he lost 10 kilograms in three weeks. As soon as the news of He Yi joining Binance was announced, the price of BNB rose, and the trading volume of BNB and the platform's newly launched BTM tokens immediately surged, and the trading volume ranking squeezed into the 10th in the world. Half a month after He Yi joined the company, BNB jumped from 0.149 US dollars to 2.57 US dollars, an increase of more than 20 times.

In response to questions from the media, He Yi said that "joining Binance was a very careful decision" and that she believed she would build Binance into a "truly world-class trading platform." But in fact, from CZ inviting He Yi to dinner and showing her the white paper to He Yi joining Binance and reversing the decline of BNB, the entire process took less than a month. Later, she also said in an interview that she did "enter the market with her own food."

This "dry food" is not only her own work experience, but also the assets accumulated by He Yi over the years. After He Yi invested money in the company, she had less than 1 million RMB left, so she simply bought all the BNB. "My logic is that if you do something and you don't believe in it yourself, why would you let other investors buy it?"He Yi has hardly sold this part of BNB until now.

He Yi brought his previous experience in operating Yizhibo to Binance. Giving away coins and luxury cars during live broadcasts may seem simple and crude, but it actually attracted a lot of traffic for Binance. On August 22, He Yi connected with Justin Sun for a live broadcast, talking about the TRON project. During the live broadcast, He Yi launched a TRON snap-up event, and sold 500 million TRONs in just 53 seconds. TRON was immediately recognized as the "No. 1 ICO project" in the second half of 2017.

On the 25th, He Yi successfully found a gold medal endorsement for Binance and signed a letter of intent on behalf of Binance and Sequoia China. The letter of intent stipulates that Sequoia China will invest approximately RMB 60 million in Series A financing in Binance, accounting for 10.7% of the shares. At the same time, Sequoia China agrees to provide a bridge loan worth approximately RMB 30 million to Binance's Japanese branch. Binance's valuation has reached RMB 500 million.

But Binance, which was about to reach its peak, encountered the "crypto disaster day" a week later. On September 4, 2017, the state launched a heavy blow to the chaos in the cryptocurrency industry, and seven government departments announced that all token issuance and financing activities, including ICOs, would be stopped. As soon as the news came out, Bitcoin plunged, and everyone thought that cryptocurrency was going to die. At this time, it was less than a month since He Yi joined Binance.

Of course, for Binance, September 4th is a rare opportunity to "overtake". Binance has always only engaged in currency-to-currency transactions, and the company's servers are also registered overseas. CZ himself is a foreigner, so it is natural for him to go international. "Since China cannot do it at present, we have decisively withdrawn from the Chinese market and focused on international business."

What impressed many investors at that time was Binance's "market price withdrawal" of Chinese investors. According to industry regulations, if the issue price is one yuan, then only one yuan needs to be returned during the withdrawal, and the principal will be returned to the investor. However, Binance decided to withdraw according to the market price of BNB. At that time, BNB had experienced a round of high rises, and the price was still around 6 yuan after "94". There were also many projects involving ETH. Binance also withdrew the currency according to the market price of ETH, subsidizing a large sum of money. For Binance, although this wave of losses, it won the trust of the industry.

After that, He Yi promoted Binance on social media despite the pressure, recommending the "Tutorial on Overcoming the Internet Firewall" by "Teacher Tony" to users. On the other hand, he directed Binance to open a license in Japan first to fill the gap in domestic trading platforms. At one time, domestic users such as OKCoin and Huobi flocked to Binance, and Binance began to advance rapidly again.

On December 15, 2017, four months after He Yi joined Binance, Binance announced its operating data: the top three in global trading volume, 24-hour trading volume exceeded 2.1 billion US dollars, and BNB market value increased by 100% month-on-month. On December 18, Binance's daily trading volume exceeded 3 billion US dollars, becoming the world's number one crypto trading platform. On the 19th, the number of Binance users exceeded 2 million, and then jumped to 5 million in less than a month.

On January 10, 2018, Binance’s trading volume exceeded 10 billion US dollars. In February, CZ appeared on the cover of Forbes magazine. It took He Yi 6 months to realize the boast she made when she joined Binance.

Binance did not have smooth sailing after He Yi joined. Late at night on March 7, 2018, Binance was hacked, and many users found that the tokens in their accounts were traded for Bitcoin at the market price, causing the prices of most currencies to fall. After triggering a panic sell-off, the hackers bought all the Bitcoins in the stolen accounts into a token called VIA, causing the price of VIA to surge by more than 110 times in a short period of time, which in turn caused the price of Bitcoin to fall by more than 10% within an hour.

After the incident, Binance was accused of "embezzlement and blaming hackers". He Yi stood up again, speaking to the media to clarify while answering everyone's questions in the communication group one by one. "He Yi protects Binance like a calf. At least in Binance's external role-playing, she does a good job", this is the evaluation of He Yi by a media person in the industry. In April, the Hong Kong High Court rejected Sequoia China's request for an injunction against Binance, and the investment dispute between Binance and Sequoia China was again in the media. He Yi came out again to ease the relationship, saying that this was "a conflict between emerging industries and past financing models, and a conflict between Chinese culture and Western culture.

Related reading: " CZ sues Sequoia Capital subsidiary and demands compensation "

Four years ago, He Yi always had golden sentences in media interviews. Regarding the outside world's doubts that Binance's donation of all listing fees was "pouring money from the left hand to the right hand", He Yi said, "It is Binance's freedom to donate the listing fees wherever it wants." Regarding Binance's ICO being defined as illegal, she said, "CZ did not specifically consider China, which is a manifestation of our lack of oriental wisdom." Of course, there is also a response to the red shirt lawsuit. In 2018, Benpao Finance counted the Baidu search volume, media information volume, fan volume and other data of the founders of the crypto exchage at that time. He Yi and Binance ranked first, with exposure far exceeding other competitors. This is the influence of Yijie in the crypto.

After the September 4th Incident, under the regulatory pressure of various countries and the high discrimination of Western media, many domestic exchanges began to downplay their "Chinese elements" in order to continue their business. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find videos of CZ speaking Chinese, and Star Xu is determined to "no longer speak Mandarin." However, He Yi's English is not good. In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, she also revealed that her English level is an important reason why she did not become the image spokesperson of Binance.

As Binance expanded overseas, He Yi gradually retreated behind the scenes, and CZ stepped to the front. Now, even outsiders know that CZ is the "richest person in the crypto", but if you haven't been in the circle for a year or two, you won't know how glorious Yijie was back then.

However, today He Yi is still working for Binance. Her passport is stamped by many countries, and there are fewer and fewer blank visa pages. He Yi used "the world is my home" to describe her work. "When you are away from Chongqing noodles, crayfish and Jiugongge hot pot, you will still miss them, especially your stomach, which will have a strong sense of homesickness." Is He Yi still valuable after retreating behind the scenes? He Yi herself has answered this question. In the interview, she revealed that people have tried to poach her in the past, but most of them were just because of the name He Yi, not He Yi's value. "My work in the past two years has basically been behind the scenes. I am the one who stands behind and makes the layout. Lao Zhao understands the value of He Yi as a partner."

Binance Partners

In May 2018, He Yi was asked in a media interview whether Binance would consider issuing financial derivatives. At that time, the crypto market had just entered a bear market, and people did not have a clear understanding of the industry cycle, and the market sentiment was not too bad. Regarding the launch of contract products, He Yi's answer was "If it is just to make money, it does not make much sense for Binance."

He Yi made it clear that Binance has always been very cautious about financial products. She also half-jokingly said: "Futures leverage provides a short mechanism. CZ and I are both very firm coin holders. We only have coins but no money. So in providing a short mechanism, we are a little selfish. We don't want the short mechanism in this industry to be too easy."

But by 2019, Binance was really anxious.

In May, Binance, which has always been restrained in its business, quickly launched contract, OTC and other product businesses. This year, Binance not only launched Binance.US to provide services to users in the United States instead of Binance main site, but also announced that it would re-emphasize the Chinese market and increase staffing in China.

Behind Binance's series of actions is the stock game stage in which the crypto market is deeply trapped. He Yi himself summarized two market trends: one is that trading is sluggish and the frequency of user transactions is reduced; the other is that mainstream coins are more active and Altcoin are less active. For trading platforms, the most feared thing in the bear market of the crypto is not the decline, but the sideways trend with no end in sight. Retail investors are trapped and cannot move. The project parties either make a fortune and leave, or lack money to do "market value management". The "cold winter" has frozen a large area, and the liquidity of the entire industry has dried up. Without the money-making effect, exchanges have become even more unpopular.

The reason for entering the contract market is that it can amplify volatility and increase the frequency of transactions for individual users. With OK and Huobi launching contract businesses one after another, the "homogeneous competition" among the three major exchanges has been thoroughly launched.

The close business confrontation soon gave rise to a "war of words" between friendly companies. In October, Star Xu suddenly quarreled with his former comrade He Yi, and posted on Weibo that He Yi and CZ were in a relationship within the company, lacking professional ethics and partnership spirit. At that time, CZ was already married, and He Yi quickly denied the relationship with CZ and fought back.

When asked how she viewed the escalation of friction with her peers, He Yi's answer was as tough as ever. She said that it was her competitors who "recruited" Binance back. "Competitors always slander Binance online and send us so many PR articles. Whenever Binance has problems, they jump out to mock us. I thought, since they have such high expectations for us, we should go back to China to develop the market. If we don't come back to fight this battle and can't set the record straight, wouldn't it make me look like I have no temper?"

2019! 2019!

Looking back now, 2019 may be a turning point in Binance’s six-year history. In this year, Binance broke out of the war of attrition among many exchanges and began to gradually distance itself from its peers.

Many people believe that Binance's breakthrough in 2019 was due to its innovative IEO model. In January, Binance announced the restart of Launchpad, taking advantage of its overseas advantages, and took the lead in its IEO journey. The first project was Justin Sun's Bittorrent (BTT), which was sold out in less than 13 minutes after it went online. Now, the Bittorrent project may not be worth mentioning, but at that time when there was no volatility and hope, the impact of a project that went online and increased 20 times on the market was immeasurable.

Facts have proved that Binance has become the most successful IEO player, not only attracting a lot of attention, but also attracting users from other platforms. Seeing Binance's breakthrough, Huobi and OK joined the "IEO Club". In March, Huobi launched its first project TOP, and the three rounds of rush purchases took only 19 seconds in total, and the opening price was more than 20 times. Driven by the top exchanges, domestic trading platforms of all sizes have entered the IEO trading market. In response, CZ confidently replied: "Other exchanges are welcome to copy."

But in fact, it was not just the new IEO model that led Binance to finally break through, because by May and even at the end of the year, the "three major exchanges" were still fighting for the contract market. And CZ's confidence did not only come from the victory of IEO. In 2019, Binance's work efficiency and progress in all aspects can be described as "terrifying."

After setting off the IEO wave in January, Binance then launched Binance Smart Chain (now BNB Chain) in February. In May, the first DeFi project on the chain, CRED, was launched, and Binance started leverage and contract trading, officially entering the derivatives market. In June, Binance Labs announced the incubation of 13 new projects. In July, Binance.us was established. In September, Binance successively launched BUSD, wealth management products and staking platforms. In December, it acquired JEX and launched Binance Cloud, as well as the landmark event - investing in FTX.

This is just a display of some of Binance's workload and products in 2019. In the extremely cold market, Binance's multiple business lines are advancing in parallel, trying every means to increase trading volume and bring back funds. Behind almost every business line of Binance, He Yi. This year, Binance's business progress has gradually been reflected in the company's profits.

Someone calculated the value of fiat currency destroyed by BNB in ​​the third quarter. In the third quarter of 2019, even though the transactions in the crypto market were declining, Binance's profits were still increasing, and even increased by about 10 million US dollars compared with the second quarter. He Yi gave three reasons for this. First, Binance had a coin theft incident last quarter, and because it took the loss, its profits declined. Second, some projects invested by Binance in the early stage unlocked tokens in the third quarter and obtained a certain return on investment. Third, a lot of structural optimization was done in terms of cost.

He Yi revealed that the amount of money Binance pays to third-party service companies every year is staggering. "For example, in terms of cloud services, the amount we pay to Amazon every year may really be second only to those world's leading companies." In 2019, the team led by He Yi made a major iteration on the solutions provided by suppliers, reducing costs by tens of millions of dollars every month.

These achievements are not groundless. Looking back, He Yi and Binance had already begun laying the groundwork for their breakthrough in 2018.

In an interview in October 2018, He Yi said: "The most powerful opponent is actually ourselves, and Binance needs to defeat itself to evolve." At that time, the foundation and ecology of the blockchain industry were not yet mature, but Binance decided to try in all directions, including the upstream, midstream and downstream of the industry.

In the upstream, Binance Labs was established. At first, it only invested in some industries, but later He Yi found that it was necessary to establish a mother fund to introduce the old money of traditional finance into the industry. In the midstream, Binance Smart Chain was established to provide incubation space for projects in a more crypto-native way. In an interview in 2018, Ella, the then head of Binance Lab, revealed the launch plan of BSC. Of course, there are also extensions of Binance Info, charity, etc. in the downstream of the industry.

Another thing Binance did in 2018 was to acquire Trust Wallet.

This is Binance's first public acquisition. He Yi recalled that when he found Trust Wallet, the team was already planning to issue a coin, so the initial impression was not very good. But after using and experiencing the product, He Yi quickly decided to talk to the other party again. In August, Binance announced the acquisition of Trust Wallet, and soon after, He Yi assistant Eowync took over the position of team CEO. To date, Trust Wallet's market share on mobile terminals has exceeded MetaMask, and the team still has not issued a coin.

In fact, Binance has many sub-businesses, but almost none of them issue coins. He He Yi believes that these products have a bright future. She herself also said that overall, it is most important to focus on value creation. "The image of the crypto is not a greedy behemoth. I hope that one day, this industry will truly grow, be recognized by the public and society, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results."

This sounds like those high-sounding big words, but He Yi has indeed fulfilled all the boasts in the past, and this sentence is no exception. Binance Labs under He Yi leadership has indeed made a lot of "faith investments".

Yibo Ling, Binance's chief business officer, once said: "We buy and hold, which has been our strategy for the past few years. With a few exceptions, we have not exited." The most powerful proof is Binance's uncashed LUNA and the huge amount of MATIC that can be checked on the chain. At the height of the market panic last year, Binance launched a $1 billion "Industry Recovery Fund" to support crypto projects and companies in difficulty. According to Binance's 2022 year-end review report, Binance Labs has invested more than $500 million in the Web3 field, making it one of the few institutions in the industry that continues to invest money.

In Binance, apart from product technology, He Yi is more or less involved in other businesses. Someone asked what He Yi's position in the company is? She summarized it as "CZ helps the company find its direction, and I help the company find better people." Others think that He Yi is in charge of too much, and she simply responded "I am a partner of the company."

Binance Totem

After Binance moved overseas, He Yi became the most stable bridge between Binance and the Chinese community. You can find her no matter where or when. In the eyes of users, He Yi is Binance's "chief customer service", who responds to messages the fastest and is often active in various WeChat groups late at night. Whenever Binance has an event, she will personally send red envelopes in the group and ask everyone to forward them. In the eyes of passers-by, He Yi is Binance's "firefighter", who used to be on the front line to fight against competitors, and now appears at Binance's various FUD sites to refute rumors.

Someone once asked He Yi about retirement? Her answer was decisive: "In 2017, I wrote this: Everyone thinks that Binance's ICO is to raise money, but in fact, you raise debt, and your debt may be a lifetime debt."

Although everyone calls her "Chief Customer Service", He Yi revealed that in addition to customer service, she is responsible for all matters related to users at Binance. From branding, public relations, to content and design, etc. The second is user growth, such as user operations, event operations, etc. Even Binance's major customers and local markets in countries and regions around the world are also handled by He Yi.

In fact, when it comes to lying down, few people in the crypto deserve a rest more than He Yi. Not only because of her experience, age, status and wealth, but also because she is already a mother of two children. In the circle of billionaires, you can hardly find another founder like He Yi, who insists on being on the front line every day, understanding user needs and solving user problems in various communities. She often said that she only had one job at Binance: working for BNB holders.

Of course, He Yi's job is more than just "working". In the eyes of Binance people, He Yi is also the "team architect" of this 8,000-person team. For He Yi, management has become an art. "If someone in your team performs poorly, it must be the manager's problem, or you misjudged him from the beginning, which is a problem with your recruitment ability. Or you didn't put him in the right position, which is your management problem."

He Yi, who had just joined Binance, was in charge of the entire marketing department. In order to achieve zero-distance contact between the Binance brand and users, she gave the department a strict order: everyone must be a customer service representative. To this end, she personally trained the entire marketing department and answered all questions raised by users in all Binance user groups. In the early days of Binance, employees often worked overtime until after 1 o'clock, and He Yi would also work overtime until after 1 o'clock.

Under He Yi's guidance, the once unpopular "Binance Girls Group" has gradually become an independent presence in the Binance Chinese community. Sisi has changed from community and customer service to half a product manager, collecting suggestions for Binance from the entire Chinese community, Qiqi changed her name to Eva and worked in VIP and institutions, and Yingge is cheering for Binance Square. He Yi is practicing his goal of finding honest, capable and enthusiastic young people to build a "long-lasting" system.

Even though BNB has risen from one dollar to more than two hundred dollars, He Yi still feels that the responsibility is heavy. "Users hold your coins because they trust you. If it goes up, that's good, and everyone is happy. If it goes down, everyone may not be happy, and then you will feel that the responsibility on your shoulders will be heavier."

From this perspective, if there is someone in this position who can do better than He Yi, she is willing to "step down and let others take over."

It can only be He Yi

On June 18, 2017, CZ, who was starting a business, invited He Yi to have a meal. She looked at the white paper and laughed, "They gave it a very strange Chinese name, like a supermarket. I said, why not call it Binance?"

Six years later, Binance gave He Yi this evaluation on its official website:

"Binance's growth into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange is inseparable from the business strategy created by He Yi and her team. She transformed Binance from a coin-to-coin trading platform into a global blockchain ecosystem. Her strategic vision and personnel strategy are crucial to any company in being able to break through strong competitors and occupy more than 60% of the market share."

This year at Dubai Token2049, Yijie once again became the most eye-catching person at Binance. At the Binance event, He Yi wore a black dress and calmly shared Binance's past and future. Twitter, WeChat groups, and Moments were full of selfies of participants and Yijie. Just like the name she gave to the company, Binance with He Yi Yi always makes people feel more at ease.

When CZ retired, everyone was still worried about the future of Binance. Now, no one is more suitable for Binance than He Yi Yi. She is the only one who will reply to customers' simple questions late at night, and she is the only one who will come out to fight back against FUD during turmoil. When asked about her annual salary at Binance, she said, "It's all pocket money, I don't pay much attention to it." Perhaps as she wrote six years ago, He Yi"likes to lead a group of people to conquer cities and ponds, likes the moment of celebrating victory, and likes to watch subordinates grow up and become independent." These are the things that make He Yi happy.

"She's pretty." This is the first impression many people have of He Yi, but they don't know the huge energy this woman has. Six years have passed, and Binance still needs He Yi in the future.