One of the earliest contributors of Binance, Yi He has been appointed as a new co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the exchange. Binance announced the appointment on Wednesday through a post on its official blog.Â
According to the statement, Yi He will lead the exchange as a co-CEO alongside Richard Teng who emerged as CEO in November 2023. The move will see Yi He assume a formal leadership position at the exchange.
Recall that Teng emerged as CEO after Binance founder and former boss, Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ quit the position and pleaded guilty to breaching money laundering regulations in the United States. Consequently, CZ went on to spend four months in jail in 2024 and also paid a $50 million fine.
As part of the settlement deal with the Department of Justice, Changpeng Zhao left the exchange. The DOJ also barred CZ from interfering in its affairs. However, a recent pardon by pro-crypto US president, Donald Trump has freed CZ from the indictment, though the news generated a lot of controversy.
Meanwhile, Richard Teng has confirmed the appointment of Yi He, describing her as a key part of the exchange’s executive team. According to Teng, the appointment is a natural elevation due to how Yi He has contributed massively to the success of Binance.
Background details on Yi He
In addition to co-founding Binance in 2017, Yi He also contributed to the establishment of OkCoin which launched in 2014. The exchange has undergone a rebranding and it is currently known as OKX.
Before her appointment as co-CEO, Yi He served as the chief marketing officer of the exchange, leading its expansion efforts and introduction of various innovative products. Furthermore, Yi He said working alongside Richard Teng will position Binance for more growth.
She opined that the synergy will leverage two key perspectives, emphasizing Richard Teng’s experience in the regulated financial markets. Like Yi He, Richard Teng also served in a key role before his appointment as CEO.
As indicated, Teng served as the exchange’s head of regional markets outside the US. His career journey has seen Richard Teng work at PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, where he served for 13 years.
Under Richard Teng, Binance has maintained its position as the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. Recently, the exchange announced that it now supports BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund as off-exchange collateral.
With this move, Binance will allow institutions to trade while keeping their assets with the fund manager.