Yi He
Yi He | |
|---|---|
何一 | |
| Born | 何英 1986 (age 39–40) Sichuan, China |
| Citizenship | China |
| Occupation | Business executive |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Employer | Binance |
| Known for | Co-founding Binance |
| Title | Co-CEO of Binance (2025–present) Head of YZi Labs (2022–present) |
| Partner | Changpeng Zhao (2014–present) |
| Children | 3 |
Yi He (Chinese: 何一; pinyin: Hé Yī, née Chinese: 何英; pinyin: Hé Yīng; born c. 1986) is a Chinese-born business executive. She is a co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Binance and, since December 2025, has served as its co-chief executive officer (CEO), alongside Richard Teng.[1][2]
Previously, she served as Binance's chief marketing officer.[3] Since August 2022 she has headed YZi Labs, formerly known as Binance Labs, a venture capital firm and family office associated with Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao that invests in Web3, artificial intelligence and biotechnology companies.[4][5]
Early life and education
[edit]Yi He was born as He Ying (何英) in a rural village of Sichuan province in 1986. Both of her parents were school-teachers, and she entered primary school at the age of five, finishing near the top of her class. As a teenager, she worked part-time, first as a soft-drink promoter at 16, then for two months as manager of a bedding shop.[citation needed]
In 2006, she moved to Beijing to enroll in an in-service master's program in counselling psychology and obtained a national psychological-counsellor certificate. Finding the market limited, she left the field and spent two years as a class teacher at a private arts college in Lijiang.[citation needed]
Career
[edit]Between 2012 and 2014 she hosted programmes such as 美丽目的地 and 有多远走多远 on Travel Satellite TV, as well as 北京新发现 on Beijing Television.[6]
In March 2014, she joined the cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin as vice-president and chief marketing officer, where she launched a billboard campaign in Times Square and recruited engineer Changpeng Zhao to the company.[7]
Leaving OKCoin in 2015, she accepted an offer from Yixia Technology (一下科技) to head marketing for its live-streaming apps 一直播, 秒拍 and 小咖秀. Among other initiatives, she secured a widely viewed live stream with South Korean actor Song Joong-ki that contributed to the company's reported valuation of around US$3 billion. She left Yixia in mid-2017 and later that year co-founded Binance with Zhao.[citation needed]
In 2017 He and Zhao co-founded Binance. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, she holds at least 10% of a Cayman Islands holding company associated with Binance and exercises broad influence over the firm's marketing and investment operations.[3]
In August 2022, amid what was described as a "crypto winter", Binance appointed He as head of Binance Labs, the company's venture capital and incubation arm.[5]
On 3 December 2025, Binance announced that He had been appointed co-CEO of the exchange, sharing the role with Richard Teng, who became sole CEO in 2023 after Zhao stepped down as part of a settlement with United States authorities over anti-money laundering violations.[8][9]
Personal life
[edit]Yi He is in a long-term relationship with Changpeng Zhao. They have been partners since 2014 and have three children together.[6][10]
References
[edit]- ↑ Ghosh, Suvashree (3 December 2025). "Crypto Giant Binance Appoints Co-Founder Yi He as Co-CEO". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ "Binance names co-founder as co-CEO". Reuters. 3 December 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- 1 2 Angus Berwick; Patricia Kowsmann; Caitlin Ostroff; Vicky Ge Huang (24 December 2023). "The Crypto Queen Pulling the Strings at Binance". The Wall Street Journal WP-WSJ-0001422262. ISSN 0099-9660. Wikidata Q136565457. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ↑ Muyao Shen; Justina Lee (28 June 2023). "Crypto's Most Powerful Woman Speaks Out as Crisis Rocks Binance". Bloomberg News RWYSOST0AFB401. Wikidata Q120053402. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- 1 2 Primack, Dan (3 August 2022). "Binance Labs puts Yi He in charge". Axios. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- 1 2 Wilson, Tom; Angus Berwick (17 October 2022). "How Binance CEO and aides plotted to dodge regulators in U.S. and UK". Reuters Investigates. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ↑ "Binance taps He Yi, 36-year-old billionaire co-founder, to run its venture arm". Fortune. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ↑ "Binance names co-founder Yi He as co-CEO". The Business Times. 3 December 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ "Binance Names Co-founder Yi He as Co-Chief Executive". Banking Dive. 3 December 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.
- ↑ "何一是誰？解密何一從主播到幣安領頭加密一姊的成長史". DA Labs (in Chinese). 10 November 2025. Retrieved 4 December 2025.