Binance has unveiled a new dual-leadership structure, appointing cofounder Yi He as co-CEO alongside existing chief executive Richard Teng.
The announcement was made on stage at Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai, where Teng described Yi He’s new role as a “natural progression” of responsibilities she has already informally held for years. The move formalises her position at the very top of the organisation as Binance passes milestones such as:
- Approaching 300 million users across its ecosystem
- Operating under tighter licensing, compliance and reporting regimes in multiple jurisdictions
- Navigating ongoing legal and regulatory scrutiny following the departure of founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao
Binance presents the appointment as part of a broader effort to spread leadership duties, strengthen governance and position the exchange for its next phase of global expansion.
Who Is Yi He?
Yi He is not a new face for long-time Binance watchers. She:
- Cofounded Binance in 2017, helping shape the product roadmap, branding and internal culture from the earliest days
- Served as Chief Marketing Officer and later as head of Binance Labs, the company’s venture arm
- Has been a key voice on listing standards, user growth and community strategy
Before crypto, Yi He worked in Chinese media and tech, including as a TV travel-show host and as an executive in the mobile-video sector. Over the past decade she has built a reputation as one of the most influential operators in the exchange business.
With the new appointment she becomes one of only a small number of women leading a major global crypto exchange, a point highlighted by several industry outlets and commentators. It is a symbolic shift in a sector whose senior ranks remain heavily male-dominated.
A Dual-CEO Structure: How Responsibilities May Be Split
Binance has not published a detailed organisational chart, but statements from the company and coverage by financial media outline an emerging division of labour in the new structure.
- Richard Teng is expected to remain the primary point of contact for regulators, policymakers and institutional partners, continuing to oversee legal, compliance and high-level risk management.
- Yi He is expected to focus more on product, users and growth, including areas such as retail experience, ecosystem development, listings and strategic investments.
In practice, both co-CEOs will share responsibility for overall strategy and major corporate decisions. However, the dual structure allows Binance to:
- Put a seasoned former regulator (Teng) out front in regulatory negotiations
- Put a founder-operator (Yi He) in charge of user-facing innovation, culture and execution
That mix is meant to reassure regulators and partners that Binance is not only compliant but also operationally robust and succession-ready.
Governance, Compliance And Post-CZ Restructuring
Yi He’s promotion comes against the backdrop of a multi-year governance overhaul at Binance.
Key context includes:
- In 2023, CZ stepped down as CEO and pleaded guilty in the United States to failures related to anti-money-laundering controls, as part of a multi-billion dollar settlement.
- Binance has since invested heavily in compliance, internal controls and licensing, hiring former regulators and restructuring its regional entities.
- Regulators and courts in several jurisdictions continue to probe aspects of its past operations, and the company faces ongoing civil litigation.
Within that context, appointing a co-CEO who has deep knowledge of Binance’s internal workings sends several messages:
- Continuity with change: Binance is not disowning its past; it is elevating one of its original architects while tightening oversight structures.
- Shared accountability: Dual leadership can make it harder for any single personality to dominate decision making, at least in theory.
- Capacity for scale: With hundreds of millions of users and multiple regulated entities, a single CEO model may be too concentrated for the operational realities Binance now faces.
Some analysts also see the move as a way to future-proof governance if CZ’s role, following his legal issues and later political developments, continues to evolve in the background.
What This Means For Users And Markets
For everyday users, the leadership change does not alter how they log in, trade or withdraw. However, it has several indirect implications.
User Experience And Product Strategy
With Yi He formally sharing the top job, observers expect Binance to:
- Keep user experience and retail features at the centre of its strategy
- Push further into educational initiatives, emerging markets and new product lines such as youth-focused or savings-oriented offerings
- Continue to refine listing and delisting standards, an area where Yi He has often engaged directly with the community
In short, her appointment reinforces the message that Binance wants to be seen as a user-first platform even as it institutionalises its governance.
Regulatory Signalling
From a regulatory standpoint, the co-CEO model is designed to project stability and seriousness:
- It pairs a founder-operator with a former regulator at the very top
- It suggests that governance, risk and compliance are now board-level priorities, not bolt-ons
- It may make supervisors more comfortable with Binance’s claims that it has moved past earlier lapses
How persuasive that message proves will depend on how Binance behaves in concrete cases: licensing applications, cooperation with investigations, and its handling of future crises.
Gender And Representation In Crypto Leadership
Yi He’s promotion also matters symbolically. Large crypto exchanges have historically been led almost exclusively by men, and women remain underrepresented in senior technical and trading roles across the sector.
By installing a woman as co-CEO of the world’s largest exchange by trading volume, Binance:
- Sends a signal about internal culture and diversity, at least at the executive level
- Puts a high-profile female leader at the centre of public communications about strategy and governance
- Adds to the small but growing list of women running major infrastructure firms in the digital-asset industry
Whether this translates into broader changes inside Binance or across the industry is an open question, but it is a notable departure from the historical norm.
How Competitors Might Respond
Other large exchanges and trading platforms are watching Binance’s move closely.
Potential knock-on effects include:
- Leadership diversification: Rival firms may increasingly highlight experienced women in senior roles, both for talent and signalling reasons.
- Governance upgrades: As Binance emphasises its board committees, risk frameworks and compliance hires, competitors may feel pressure to showcase their own governance credentials.
- Product positioning: If Binance uses the leadership reset to push harder into specific segments – such as youth education, regional markets or institutional services – others may adjust their roadmaps accordingly.
The overall direction of travel, however, is the same: major exchanges are trying to look less like founder-driven trading venues and more like regulated financial institutions.
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