Customer-Support First, Binance Second: Yi He's Innovation Award Has Users Cheering 🙌

Binance Co-Founder Yi He has been named Most Innovative Web3 Founder at the CoinGape Web3 Innovation Awards 2026, an honor decided by an independent judging panel drawn from Polygon Labs, Beldex, Liminal, Visa, INPUT, Luna PR, and SharpLink. The awards recognize founders, companies, products, and technologies shaping the next phase of Web3.

Yi He was elevated to Co-CEO of Binance by CEO Richard Teng in December 2025, a promotion rooted in her role building the exchange from launch and her broader influence across the blockchain sector. She first met Changpeng Zhao in 2014, and together they launched Binance in 2017, growing it into one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

A defining element of her leadership is an insistence on user-first operations. Yi He requires new hires, regardless of role, to complete shifts on customer support before taking on their main responsibilities, ensuring every team understands user needs before being assigned additional duties. Her approach has been cited as central to Binance's product development and customer engagement over time.

The award arrives amid continued operational expansion for the firm. Earlier this month, Binance returned to the Philippines after regulators granted permission for the exchange to begin testing under the Philippine Strategic Regulatory framework. The move marks a re-entry into a market the platform had previously exited.

The CoinGape Web3 Innovation Awards 2026 honors individuals and organizations across the digital asset stack, with the judging panel spanning protocols, payments, custody, communications, and betting infrastructure. Recognition of Yi He underscores the role of operational discipline and user-focused design alongside technical breakthroughs.