Crypto giant Binance appoints co-founder He Yi as co-CEO


Binance Holdings named co-founder He Yi as co-CEO in the biggest change to its top leadership since Zhao Changpeng stepped down from running the cryptocurrency exchange two years ago.

She will share the title with Richard Teng, who succeeded Zhao as CEO of the world’s largest crypto trading venue in November 2023. Zhao, who resigned after pleading guilty to anti-money-laundering and sanctions violations, and He have children together.

Zhao was pardoned by US President Donald Trump in October, removing some of the regulatory overhang that had dogged the billionaire and the exchange he started for years. Analysts have said the pardon could make it easier for Binance to consolidate its US operations, which remain structurally separate from the global exchange.

“The impression is that: now with the pardon, let’s scale up the business,” Ben Charoenwong, associate professor of finance at INSEAD, said of He’s appointment. “We had taken a defensive stance as a firm because of potential regulatory pressure, but now we’re gonna be more clearly active at the helm.”

Binance founder Zhao Changpeng. Photo: Reuters
Binance founder Zhao Changpeng. Photo: Reuters

On her social media profile, He until now describes herself as Binance’s chief customer service officer. She has less of a public persona than Zhao, who spent the past year criss-crossing the globe meeting with public officials, regularly speaks at crypto conferences and is a prolific poster on X.

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