Yi He, co-founder of Binance, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on May 10, 2023.
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Binance Holdings, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, named a new co-CEO Wednesday in a major shake-up of its leadership structure.
Yi He, who co-founded Binance with former head Changpeng Zhao in 2017 and has children with the crypto mogul, will now split duties with acting CEO Richard Teng, who announced the news this week.
The move represents the firm’s most significant leadership change since Teng succeeded Zhao, who pleaded guilty to violating U.S. money-laundering laws in 2023.
Teng, who was appointed amid intense regulatory scrutiny of Binance and crypto more broadly, notably had a background in financial regulation and services, formerly holding a senior regulatory role at Singapore’s central bank.
“[Yi He] has been there from the start, and she has been driving a lot of changes and driving the growth of Binance,” Teng told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Wednesday shortly after the announcement.
Yi He’s elevation to the co-CEO position represents the appointment of an insider with longstanding ties to Zhao, also known as CZ.
The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned CZ, who had previously pleaded guilty to enabling money laundering while heading the cryptocurrency exchange.
The Trump administration has taken a friendlier stance toward the crypto industry, with several high-profile cases dropped in recent months.
Queen behind the scenes
Yi He has maintained a relatively low public profile compared to CZ, with many details regarding her roles and activities at Binance unclear.
Her social profiles list her most recent position as Chief Customer Service Officer at the crypto exchange.
One of the last major public statements from the businesswoman was in defense of CZ during his 2024 trial, among 161 letters requesting leniency from the court.
In her letter written in Chinese, Yi He identified herself as CZ’s business partner and “the mother of his three children.”
She claimed that she met CZ at a public blockchain event in 2014, three years before Binance was founded. She was then working at cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin and recruited CZ to join her.
“As CZ’s life partner, I’ve known him for nearly ten years, so I understand a side of him that’s often overlooked,” she wrote in the 2024 letter defending him.
Binance said in a statement Wednesday that Yi He has “played a fundamental role in shaping Binance’s vision and culture, guiding a strategy focused on users’ needs and innovation.”
The company also included a public statement from Yi He, in which she emphasized her and Teng’s “complementary perspectives and shared vision.”
“Together, we bring diverse perspectives and are confident in leading the future of the industry during this pivotal time, as we responsibly expand our global presence and drive sustainable innovation with our users always at the center,” she said.
Federal probes into Binance have also referenced her role in the company. In 2020, U.S. prosecutors reportedly sought records of communications involving Yi He and other executives related to anti-money laundering compliance and the creation of Binance’s U.S. entity.
Media reports have previously painted Yi He as a “Crypto Queen” wielding massive sway behind the scenes at Binance.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal in 2023, Yi He was a former Chinese talk-show host before joining OKCoin, and she entered a relationship with CZ while working together in Shanghai.
The report added that He would assume sweeping control over the crypto giant’s marketing and investment divisions.
Binance and Yi He did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.