Yi He was always strategically involved; the co-CEO title just makes it official: Binance's CZ

(L-R) Yi He, co-CEO with Richard Teng, CEO, Binance

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao said Yi He’s elevation to Co-CEO just formalises a role she has long played within the world’s largest crypto exchange, calling her appointment a natural extension of her influence over product, community engagement and strategy.

Speaking on the sidelines of Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai, Zhao said her skill set complements that of Chief Executive Officer Richard Teng, who took over after Zhao stepped down in 2023 under a US regulatory settlement.

“She has very complementary skills to Richard Teng’s. He comes from a lot more regulatory background and is much more fluent in English. Yi He’s English is improving but she always gets the message across. She’s a fast learner," Zhao said.

“Yi He’s appointment is pretty natural to me..Yi He was always the co-founder and strategically involved. She’s extremely hardworking and connected to the community be it Twitter (now X) or chinsese social media. She’s very close to the users, very product focussed and also strategically thinking,” he added.

Zhao also spoke about their long-standing personal and professional relationship. The two, who are business and life partners with children, first met at OKCoin in 2014, where Yi hired Zhao as chief technology officer.

“She’s also one of the most brilliant persons I know. She was a co-founder so always had a decent level of influence in the company. This title just formally recognises her,” CZ told the media at BBW.

He added, “She’ll continue to do well. Most Asian people know her really well. Western people didn’t know her that well before, but their feedback too has been good on her appointment. She’s nine years younger than me, and I was a CEO when I was 40 and now she’s about to reach closer age.”

On December 3, Binance named co-founder Yi He as Co-CEO. The leadership change comes at a time when the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume and users approaches the 300-million user mark globally.

Teng noted that Yi will play a pivotal role in community growth and product innovation going forward as the company expands its Web3 infrastructure ambitions. Binance is gearing up to add the next billion crypto users to its platform.

(This reporter is in Dubai at the invitation from Binance.)