Leading Women Shine in Crypto World: The Stories Behind Bitget and Binance
Summary:
This article highlights the careers of Gracy Chen and Yi He, the women behind two of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Bitget and Binance respectively. From their early beginnings to their rise in leadership roles, it charts their journeys, emphasizing their contributions to the massive trading volumes of these exchanges. Chen, now Bitget's CEO, was drawn to leadership from a young age and delved into the crypto world after exposure to Bitcoin during her TV hosting days. He, on the other hand, combined her communication skills and TV hosting experience to co-found Binance, which is now the world’s largest crypto exchange.
Two of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world were founded by women. Gracy Chen, who was previously the Managing Director at Bitget, a crypto exchange, and is now its CEO, detailed her leadership journey in a blog post dated May 21. Bitget currently has a trading volume of $4 billion. From a young age, Chen was set on becoming a leader, contrasting the expectations of her single mother who hoped she wouldn't be too ambitious.
Chen won a scholarship to study Applied Mathematics in Singapore at the age of 18 and after graduation became a TV host interviewing those in the finance and technology sectors. It was during these interviews in 2015 that she first learned about Bitcoin which was then valued at $300.
The concept of Bitcoin fascinated her and she was excited by its democratic approach and new decentralized ledger. Chen quickly left her TV job and co-started financial technology and virtual reality startups, while also pursuing an MBA from MIT. In 2022, an opportunity to join Bitget arrived and she accepted, rising on to become its CEO and managing a workforce of more than 1,500 people.
Another prominent woman in cryptocurrency is Yi He, the co-founder of well-known crypto exchange, Binance. Raised in a remote region in mainland China, He excelled academically from a young age. Initially pursuing psychology in Beijing despite limited opportunities, she developed communication and interaction abilities crucial for her future success.
In 2012, she secured a role as a TV host in a Chinese travel program. While interviewing Star Xu, founder of Okcoin, a crypto exchange in 2013, He became interested in cryptocurrencies and accepted a role as vice president of Okcoin. Under He's leadership, Okcoin became one of the main exchanges in China.
She brought in her future husband, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, as CTO of Okcoin, but he stepped down in 2015 after disagreements with Xu. He also left Okcoin in 2015 but decided to return to the tech industry by 2017 with global ambitions.
In 2017, following CZ's proposal for a global crypto exchange, Binance, He quickly agreed to co-found the venture. Binance now holds the title as the world’s most extensive crypto exchange, with a daily volume of $36.5 billion and $134.6 billion in total assets. While CZ is no longer involved in Binance, He and the current CEO, Richard Teng, now manages operations, focusing on the future prospects of the crypto sector.
Published At
5/23/2024 9:45:52 PM
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