Catherine Coley

As Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, prepared to launch a U.S. arm last year, CEO Changpeng Zhao (better known as CZ) chose Coley as its American CEO. That makes Coley, a former foreign exchange trader for Morgan Stanley, the lone female chief of a major crypto exchange in an industry dominated by men. In her role, she has shepherded Binance.US through the American regulatory process in order to make the service available to customers in 38 states, listing more than 40 different cryptocurrencies—the most of any U.S. exchange. And with the company’s official launch of its mobile app this year, Coley has helped Binance.US capitalize on a surge in cryptocurrency demand during the coronavirus pandemic, growing the service’s user base by 82% in March 2020 alone.