Article

Binance Names Co-Founder Yi He as Co-CEO

Binance appoints co-founder Yi He, who's also CZ's partner, as co-CEO in the exchange’s biggest leadership shift since 2023.

Dec 3, 2025 • 1 min read

Binance has named co-founder Yi He as co-CEO alongside Richard Teng, marking the exchange's first leadership shift since Teng replaced Changpeng Zhao in late 2023, leading the exchange solo since.

What's the scoop?

CZ Reaction: Former CEO Changpeng Zhao posted on X that Yi He "should have been the Binance CEO from day 1" and welcomed the dual-leadership structure.
Personal Ties: Yi He and Zhao are long-time business and life partners with children together, having previously worked at OKCoin.
User Growth Milestone: The exchange is approaching 300M users.

Bankless Take:

I am embarrassed to say I did not know that Yi He was CZ’s partner. Take this with the fact that CZ’s Twitter bio reads “@binance,” rather than “ex-@binance,” and it's hard to not see the whole family returning to the exchange soon. If this happens, it's hard to see what role Teng would have to play.

Leadership Update:

We are delighted to welcome Binance co-founder @heyibinance into her new role as Co-CEO.

Yi has always played an important role, shaping our culture, driving innovation, and championing a user-first approach across our entire ecosystem.

Her leadership has… pic.twitter.com/CqsuTkb0gc
— Binance (@binance) December 3, 2025

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