Binance has promoted its co founder Yi He to the role of co CEO, placing her alongside Richard Teng at the top of the world’s largest crypto exchange. The move was announced during Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai and marks the most significant leadership reshuffle since Changpeng Zhao stepped down in 2023 after resolving a major US enforcement case. Teng had been serving as sole CEO, while Yi He operated in the background as a key strategist and public face of Binance Labs and the wider ecosystem.
Yi He has been central to Binance since its launch in 2017, helping drive brand building, user growth and later the company’s multibillion dollar venture arm. Before crypto she worked as a TV host in China, then moved into tech marketing roles, and is now widely described as one of the most influential women in the industry. With her promotion, Binance says it wants to match its rapid expansion with more structured governance and a clearer split of responsibilities between product growth, user experience and regulatory engagement.
The dual leadership model comes as Binance tries to turn a page on its regulatory troubles. Under Teng, a former financial regulator, the exchange has been pushing a more compliance first message while continuing to handle tens of billions of dollars in daily trading. At the same time, questions remain about how much informal influence founder Changpeng Zhao still holds after serving a short prison term, paying a large fine in the United States and later receiving a presidential pardon. Market watchers see Yi He’s elevation as a way to steady the organization while keeping a trusted insider at the helm.
For the wider crypto sector, Yi He’s appointment is another sign that large exchanges are moving toward more institutional style governance, with shared leadership and stronger boards, instead of relying on a single dominant founder. It also highlights how visible women leaders remain the exception in top crypto firms. If Binance can pair its new structure with continued user growth and fewer regulatory shocks, the co CEO experiment led by Teng and Yi He could become a template for how other global platforms manage the next phase of mainstream adoption.






















































































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