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Binance

Cryptocurrency ExchangeFounded 2017
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: October 2026

Leadership History

Binance: CEO History

3 leaders · 2017 to present

Who is the CEO of Binance?

Richard Teng is the CEO of Binance, in the role since 2023. The first chief executive was Changpeng Zhao, from 2017.

Current CEO
Richard Teng (since 2023)
First CEO
Changpeng Zhao (2017)
Leaders documented
3
Founded
2017
NameRoleFromToYears in role
Yi HeCo-Founder & Co-CEO2025Present1
Richard TengCEO (Co-CEO since December 2025)2023Present3
Changpeng ZhaoFounder & CEO201720236

Company Overview

Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the world by trading volume and registered users. It started in 2017 as a fast crypto-to-crypto exchange, then grew into an ecosystem: Binance Futures, the BNB token and BNB Chain, Trust Wallet, CoinMarketCap, Binance Earn and Binance Pay. Its founder pleaded guilty in the US in 2023 and was pardoned in 2025, and the company now operates under ADGM licences in Abu Dhabi, with co-CEOs Richard Teng and Yi He and a product range that reached US stocks in 2026. The company is headquartered in Global / Decentralized. The massive cryptocurrency exchange originally launched out of Shanghai, China in 2017, but notoriously operated for years without a formal global headquarters to aggressively evade financial regulators.

Yi He

Co-Founder & Co-CEO

2025 – Present

1 year (current)

Key Decisions & Impact

Yi He was named co-CEO on December 3, 2025, splitting the top job with Richard Teng: she covers strategy and product, he covers regulation and operations. As co-founder she had run Binance's marketing, community and customer service since 2017 and led Binance Labs until it became YZi Labs in January 2025.

Legacy

Before Binance she was a television host and a vice president at OKCoin, where she hired Changpeng Zhao as CTO in 2014.

Source →

Richard Teng

CEO (Co-CEO since December 2025)

2023 – Present

3 years (current)

Key Decisions & Impact

Richard Teng became CEO in November 2023 to steer Binance through its US plea agreement and monitorship. He set up a formal board in 2024, brought in MGX's $2 billion investment in March 2025 and won the ADGM global licence, under which the main platform has operated since January 5, 2026. Since December 2025 he has shared the CEO role with co-founder Yi He.

Legacy

Teng spent three decades in financial regulation, including as CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market, chief regulatory officer of Singapore Exchange and a director at the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Source →

Changpeng Zhao

Founder & CEO

2017 – 2023

6 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Changpeng Zhao launched Binance in July 2017 with a matching engine built for speed and a long list of listed coins, and it became the largest crypto exchange by volume within about six months. He created BNB, launched Binance Futures in 2019 and Binance Smart Chain in 2020, and bought Trust Wallet and CoinMarketCap. His choice to run Binance without a fixed headquarters helped it grow fast but led to the November 2023 US plea, under which he stepped down as CEO.

Legacy

Zhao studied computer science at McGill University and built trading systems for the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Bloomberg Tradebook before crypto. He served four months in a US prison in 2024 and was pardoned on October 23, 2025.

Source →

Challenges & Strategic Context

Binance still operates under the independent monitors imposed by its 2023 US plea. In 2026 it faced reports that internal investigators who flagged about $1.7 billion of Iran-linked flows were dismissed, a reported Justice Department inquiry into Iran sanctions, and the suspension of most EU services after it withdrew its MiCA licence application. It also has to keep volumes up in a weaker 2026 crypto market.

Binance CEO and Leadership FAQ

Who is Richard Teng and when was he appointed CEO of Binance?

Richard Teng was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Binance in November 2023. A seasoned financial regulatory veteran with over three decades of public and private sector leadership, Teng previously served as CEO of ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority (Abu Dhabi), Chief Regulatory Officer at SGX (Singapore), and Director of Corporate Finance at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

What is Richard Teng's primary executive mission as Binance CEO?

Richard Teng's mission is to guide Binance through its next corporate phase of institutional maturity, establishing formal corporate headquarters and board governance, deepening proactive collaboration with global financial regulators, and preserving user financial security.

Who was Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and what was his role in building Binance?

Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is the founder and former CEO of Binance. Born in China and raised in Canada, CZ built high-frequency trading systems on Wall Street before founding Binance in 2017, transforming it into the dominant global cryptocurrency exchange in under six months.

Why did Changpeng Zhao step down as CEO of Binance?

Under his November 2023 plea agreement with the US Justice Department, Zhao pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money-laundering program, stepped down as CEO and paid a $50 million fine. He served four months in prison in 2024 and was pardoned on October 23, 2025.

Who are the co-CEOs of Binance?

Richard Teng and Yi He. Teng has been CEO since November 2023, and co-founder Yi He was named co-CEO on December 3, 2025. Binance describes the split as her leading strategy and product and him leading regulatory and operational work.

Does Binance have a board of directors?

Yes. In 2024 Binance named its first formal board, a seven-member body that includes independent directors and the CEO, as part of the governance changes that followed the US settlement.

How did leadership communicate with the global crypto community during crises?

Former CEO CZ popularized direct, real-time Twitter/X communication with users, using the famous mantra '4' (ignore FUD, fake news, and attacks), while CEO Richard Teng adopted a transparent, corporate, and regulatory-focused communication style.

What new compliance executives were appointed to Binance's leadership team?

Binance hired Noah Perlman, formerly chief operating officer of Gemini, as Chief Compliance Officer in 2022, and has added former law enforcement investigators to its compliance and investigations teams since the 2023 settlement.

Why did the CEO of Binance step down?

Founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) was forced to step down as CEO in 2023 and pled guilty to severe US anti-money laundering violations, handing the company over to Richard Teng to appease regulators.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.