Quick overview

---

Binance appointed co-founder Yi He as co-chief executive officer, marking the largest shift in the company’s top leadership since Changpeng Zhao resigned as the cryptocurrency exchange’s director two years ago.

Yi He will share the title with Richard Teng, who succeeded Zhao as the CEO of the world’s largest crypto trading venue in November 2023.

Together with Teng, “Yi will guide Binance through its next phase of development as we strengthen our global regulatory foundations and continue building a trusted, transparent, and responsible platform for digital assets,” according to a post on X by Binance on Wednesday.

The appointment follows Donald Trump’s October pardon of Binance co-founder Zhao, a more well-known public figure than Yi He. Zhao is the most recent of several executives in digital assets to receive the president’s clemency.

Zhao had previously gotten in trouble for failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering measures at Binance, and pleaded guilty to violations in a deal with the US government that put him in jail for four months and included a $4.3 billion settlement with Binance.

Yi He currently identifies herself as Binance’s chief customer service officer on her X profile. She has been Zhao’s partner in business and in life.

The exchange co-founders also have children together. Zhao, who is known in crypto circles as CZ, launched Binance in 2017 and built it into the world’s dominant crypto platform. Yi He has a lot of influence behind the scenes. She is recognized for having contributed to the expansion of the BNB Chain, which was started by Binance.