Web3's Night of Tiaras: Yi He and Ivanov Take the Crown at CoinGape Awards 🏆

CoinGape's Web3 Innovation Awards 2026 handed two of its marquee honors to veteran operators whose fingerprints have shaped the industry's last decade. Yi He, co-founder and Co-CEO of Binance, was named Most Innovative Web3 Founder, while Yaroslav Ivanov, CEO and CVO of ALTA Blockchain Labs, was recognized as Most Impactful Web3 Entrepreneur.

An independent judging panel featuring Polygon Labs, Beldex, Liminal, Visa, INPUT, Luna PR, and SharpLink selected winners from founders, companies, products, and technologies defining the future of Web3. The awards highlight figures who have moved the sector beyond speculation toward measurable infrastructure.

Yi He's selection follows her appointment as Co-CEO of Binance in December 2025, when Richard Teng elevated her expertise in building the exchange and her broader blockchain industry impact. She co-founded Binance in 2017 with Changpeng Zhao, whom she met in 2014, and has since championed a user-first operating culture that requires every new hire to log time on customer support before taking on other duties. Binance returned to the Philippines earlier this month after regulators granted the exchange permission to begin testing under the Philippine Strategic Regulatory framework.

Ivanov was honored for the Blockchain Project Evaluation Model (BPEM), a framework that assesses ventures on evidence, data quality, and comprehensive analysis rather than hype. As co-founder of ALTA Blockchain Labs, he has guided blockchain businesses across multiple market cycles, overseeing long-term positioning, exchange preparation, and business development. Advanced crypto trading platforms have since adopted BPEM to refine project rankings and inform user trading decisions.

Ivanov has also been an active voice at major blockchain conferences, where he has shared views on Web3 adoption, tokenization, and the intersection of blockchain with traditional finance. The recognition arrives as award organizers continue to spotlight builders bridging decentralized technology and real-world utility.