Binance Tightens Executive Team, Promotes Yi He to Co-CEO Position

• Binance named Yi He co CEO, strengthening leadership focus during its regulated push.
• Richard Teng and Yi He combine different backgrounds to guide exchange growth across markets.

Binance has formally named co-founder Yi He as co-CEO, placing her alongside Richard Teng in a joint leadership structure. The announcement was made during Binance Blockchain Week, with Teng describing her elevation as “a natural progression.” She previously served as the firm’s chief marketing officer and was already considered one of its core executives.

Teng said in the announcement, 

Teng took over as CEO in November 2023 following the resignation of Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to U.S. federal charges. Before stepping into the top position, Teng held responsibility for the firm’s operations in markets outside the United States. His earlier background includes more than a decade at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, where he led corporate finance policy work.

The move to bring He into the formal leadership circle reflects the platform’s intent to stabilize its executive team following regulatory setbacks and leadership turnover. Teng noted her impact on the firm’s growth and innovation efforts since inception.

A Co-Founder With Deep Ties to Binance’s Early Growth

Yi He co-founded Binance with Zhao in 2017 and played a major role in brand building, product design, and user engagement strategy. Before Binance, she was part of the founding team of OKCoin in 2014, which is now known as OKX. That role gave her early experience with the structure of digital asset trading.

Since 2022, He has also overseen Binance Labs, the exchange’s investment arm. Under her watch, the platform has expanded its product offerings and venture investments, which contributed to the company reaching a valuation of over $3 billion.

According to a Wall Street Journal report in 2023, He owns at least 10 percent of a Cayman Islands-based holding entity linked to Binance, giving her not only operational but also equity-level influence over the firm’s direction.

Binance Expands Ties with Traditional Finance

Binance’s recent activity suggests the platform is working to increase its appeal to traditional financial institutions. In November, it launched a service tailored for asset managers, family offices, and funds that are unfamiliar with crypto. This was framed as a concierge-style service meant to guide such entities through digital asset adoption.

Earlier in the year, the platform accepted BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund as off-exchange collateral. This setup allows trading while assets remain with external custodians. These efforts signal the firm’s aim to meet institutional standards while maintaining its dominant trading presence.

In another push toward integration with traditional finance, Binance partnered with Spain’s BBVA bank in August. The agreement allows BBVA to act as a custodian, reinforcing operational security for European clients.

Meanwhile, BNB trades around $897.47, registering a 7.89% increase in the past day. The trading volumes also increased by 14.83%, totaling $2.48 billion.