Binance has appointed co‑founder Yi He as co‑chief executive officer.
The appointment formalizes a dual leadership structure at the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. He will share the role with existing CEO Richard Teng, who took over after founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao stepped down in the wake of a U.S. criminal case in 2023.
Binance Implements Dual Leadership
The appointment announced at Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai. Additionally, it had confirmation in a company statement and regulatory media filings on December 3, 2025.
Under the new structure, Teng and Yi He plan to jointly oversee strategy. Teng will focus primarily on legal, regulatory and institutional relationships. Additionally, Yi He concentrating on product, retail operations and user‑facing businesses.
Binance executives said the change aims to support “responsible global expansion”. It also aims to strengthen compliance standards as the exchange works through investigations and licensing processes in multiple jurisdictions.
The reshuffle comes as Binance defends itself against a US$1 billion terrorism‑financing lawsuit and continues to respond to enforcement actions and settlements with U.S. and European authorities. The dual‑CEO model could be an attempt to balance regulatory credibility embodied by former Singapore regulator Teng, with continuity for the exchange’s retail‑driven growth, which Yi He has helped to shape since the company’s founding in 2017.
From CMO to Co‑CEO
Yi He is one of Binance’s original architects, previously working at OKCoin (now OKX) and recruiting CZ there in 2014. This was before joining him to launch Binance three years later.
Within the exchange, she has led brand, marketing and customer‑facing strategy, and since 2022 has overseen Binance Labs, the firm’s venture and incubation arm. Company profiles describe her as a core decision‑maker for several years, credited internally with driving user‑growth campaigns that helped push Binance’s registered accounts toward 300 million worldwide by late 2025.
Yi He addressed questions about CZ’s ongoing influence, emphasizing that her professional role is independent of their personal relationship. She has also forcefully denied allegations around terrorism financing and pointed to official data suggesting crypto still represents a small share of global illicit finance, while acknowledging that Binance must demonstrate stronger controls to rebuild trust with regulators and institutions.
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