YZi Labs Welcomes Haley Huang and Ricky Wang to Web3 Investment Team

Key Takeaways: 

• Bridging TradFi and DeFi, Haley Huang focuses on building infrastructure that connects users, institutions, and builders—advancing on-chain economy systems that power the next financial era.
• Rooted in empathy and founder experience, Ricky Wang is shaping EASY Residency into a living network for high-potential builders, where conviction turns into companies that last.

Earlier this year, YZi Labs welcomed two new team members: Haley Huang, former Web3 Growth at OKX and Columbia University alum; and Ricky Wang, former BD Lead at CyberConnect and Stanford GSB admit, who deferred his MBA to join the investment team.

In a recent conversation, YZi Labs spoke with the two next-generation investors about what drives them, the areas they’re most focused on today, and how founders can best engage with them as the firm continues to refine its investment strategy.

Haley Huang on Designing the On-Chain Economy for the Next Digital Asset Era

Haley Huang joined YZi Labs as Web3 Investment Director earlier this year. She’s one of those investors who often works late into the night, though you’d never feel her exhaustion during the day. Her tone’s always sharp, her energy steady, and mind always in motion.

Haley had spent years in New York, witnessing the real-time collision of capital, builders, and regulation. New York is the undeniable crypto hub, where traditional liquidity meets the best talented, passionate founders rewriting how it moves. And the moment she joined YZi Labs was precisely right – the right timing, the right city, the right team.

“You can feel the convergence of TradFi and DeFi here, especially after 2025, when policy turned positive and industry maturity sparked a new phase of digital asset growth.” she says, glancing outside the window from EASY Residency’s workspace at Bryant Park. “South is Wall Street; down the Midtown axis, you’ll find crypto funds, exchanges, and unicorn offices everywhere — it’s where traditional capital meets the new economy.”

At YZi Labs, Haley focuses on Web3 Investment and YZi Labs’ institutional initiatives: TradFi–DeFi bridges, stablecoins, tokenization, and trading infrastructures. “Crypto represents a new asset class,” she says. “And blockchain is the technology reshaping traditional financial infrastructure, making it more efficient, transparent, and cost-effective.”

She met Ella Zhang, Head of YZi Labs, earlier this year and learned about her inspiring journey founding Binance Labs (now YZi Labs) in 2018 – along with the fund’s current priorities and long-term investment thesis to empower the digital asset economy, also the firm’s 2025 plan to open institutional gateways for U.S. investors through BNB ETFs and related products. Haley immediately recognized a historic opening: build the next stage of Web3 innovation, secure compliant North American access, expand global liquidity, and unlock fairer markets for both institutions and retail users.

Her background made her a natural fit for this mission, combining analytical precision with the ability to turn complex ideas into clear, executable systems.

Haley studied Operations Research at University of Columbia, a discipline that applies math and analytics to solve complex problems and optimize decision-making. Later, at a major crypto exchange, Haley helped build the Web3 Growth Framework for its wallet. Her work crossed product strategy and partnerships, designing user-growth/GTM approaches and coordinating ecosystem collaborations.The experience grounded her in how user behavior, product design, and market dynamics actually interact.

“I’m drawn to people who look at a system and can’t help but fix it,” she says. “That’s the mindset our investors share at YZi Labs, and it’s what we look for in founders.”

Over the next three to five years, and into the next decade, she expects global web3 economy welcoming more liquidity, stronger infrastructure, and a new generation of builders who focus on products with real users and clear market demand. And at this stage, her focus is to work alongside the best founders through incubation, direct investment, and strategic partnership, and help them turn conviction into companies that last.

Founders can reach Haley via X @Hui_Huangg. “Tell me why you’re building what you’re building,” she adds. “Not just what it does, but why it matters. Everything starts with a willingness to solve an existing problem. If that’s there, I’ll always want to listen.”

Ricky Wang on Turning Founders’ Dreams Into Reality

Ricky (lying in the middle) and EASY Residency S1 founders

The early autumn air in New York was crisp. Ricky showed up in a bright orange jacket and a beanie, a look that perfectly matched his energy: passionate, warm, and always amaze his surroundings.

When he spoke about founders, his tone carried conviction. “Early-stage founders are dreamers,” he said. “I want to dream with them – and turn those dreams into reality.”

With an instinct for human connection and a deep sense of what people need, Ricky brings his “people powerhouse” energy to venture building. At YZi Labs, he spends most of his time sourcing projects for EASY Residency, the firm’s global incubator. His work spans sourcing, mentorship, and founder support: helping teams sharpen their go-to-market strategies, build meaningful partnerships, and connect with the right investors and ecosystems.

Ricky is especially interested in consumer-facing products designed to bring tangible crypto utility into everyday life. This means backing projects in areas like payments, retail trading, prediction markets, and gaming that are laser-focused on eliminating the Web3 friction points that currently exclude mainstream Web2 users. 

In 2022, Ricky was admitted to Stanford’s Deferred MBA program, set to begin in 2025. But when the time came, YZi Labs’ offer arrived -  so he chose to delay Stanford to seize the opportunity.

Between 2021 and 2023, Ricky had already lived the founder’s journey himself. He co-founded a DePIN project that rewarded EV drivers with tokens for reducing carbon emissions. “We wanted to prove you could make sustainability measurable and rewarding,” he recalls.“We had been through lots of challenges and had to pivot multiple times. That experience taught me more than any MBA class could — that timing, narrative, and real utility all have to align.”

After his startup, Ricky joined CyberConnect, helping build one of Web3’s most recognized decentralized social networks. Later, he began hosting podcasts and sharing his ideas online, which caught the attention of YZi Labs’ Investment Partner. One call led to another. “That’s when I first learned about EASY Residency, a program for early-stage founders building at the frontier,” Ricky recalls. “It just clicked.”

Ella Zhang, Head of YZi Labs, shared her ‘barbell investment strategy” to Ricky: “backing both the earliest ideas and the most proven companies, while staying highly selective in between.” That was when he decided to focus on strengthening the firm’s early-stage investments through the incubator.

“Once I joined YZi Labs, I found a team that’s grounded, rigorous, and quietly ambitious,” Ricky grins.

Ricky’s goal is to grow EASY Residency into the definitive home for high-potential founders: a living network where every participant experiences exponential value, lasting growth, and genuine camaraderie. By Season 3 and beyond, he envisions EASY Residency to engineer a powerful, networked flywheel of talent and capital that accelerates the trajectory of every company in its orbit.

Founders can reach Ricky through his x account @0xRickyW.

About YZi Labs

YZi Labs manages over $10 billion in assets globally. Our investment philosophy emphasizes impact first—we believe that meaningful returns will naturally follow. We invest in ventures at every stage, prioritizing those with solid fundamentals in Web3, AI, and biotech.

YZi Labs’ portfolio covers over 300 projects from over 25 countries across six continents. More than 65 of YZi Labs’ portfolio companies have gone through our incubation programs. For more information, follow YZi Labs on X.

Disclaimer:The information provided in this article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, endorsement, analysis, or recommendations with respect to any financial instruments, investments, or issuers. This article may contain forward-looking statements which are by nature subject to risks and uncertainties. Investment in cryptocurrency and DeFi projects involves substantial risk, including the risk of complete loss. This article does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation, or specific needs of any particular person and each individual is urged to consult their legal and financial advisors before making any investment decisions.