Focus on one-time viewing
Binance co-founder He Yi accepted her first interview after being promoted to co-CEO, explaining the company's future strategic direction and personal management philosophy.
Co-CEO division of labor and strategy: He Yi and Richard Teng form a strategic complement, with Richard focusing on global compliance based on regulatory experience, while He Yi focuses on internal matters, responsible for user experience, cultural heritage, and organizational development. She hopes to build Binance into a systematic organization that is 'evergreen' rather than relying on individuals, and plans to support more entrepreneurs based on the BNB ecosystem.
Response to rumors and business attitude: He Yi firmly denies the rumor of 'white glove listing,' emphasizing that Binance does not charge fees for listings and has strict standards, with zero tolerance for fraudulent behavior. Regarding hot sectors like Meme, she maintains an open attitude of 'never say no,' admitting that she has made misjudgments in the past due to a lack of understanding, and now pays more attention to project quality and user benefits.
Current situation, challenges, and goals: Binance's registered users have reached 300 million, with a target of 1 billion. He Yi pointed out that the current biggest challenge is the shortage of talent in the industry, requiring individuals who understand finance and crypto and truly believe in the industry's future. In terms of product experience, localization, technical stability, and industry image, Binance still has room for improvement.
Industry perspectives and personal philosophy: He Yi believes that the underlying logic of the crypto market is changing, and with mainstream institutions entering the market, absolute cycle theories may fail. She advises investors to focus on the most decentralized assets (like BTC) or leading ecosystems (like BNB). She emphasizes protecting retail investors, and Binance will continue to optimize risk control and trading fairness. On a personal level, she advocates for pragmatic professionalism, rejecting gender labels, and her motivation comes from a life philosophy of continuous trying and accepting change.
The co-CEO arrangement reflects considerations of regulation and organization, and will dominate three major core lines in the future.
On December 3rd, at the annual Binance Blockchain Week, Binance announced the largest management adjustment since the post-CZ era, with co-founder He Yi officially appointed as co-CEO, jointly steering this crypto giant with Richard Teng.
After the meeting, He Yi, in interviews with multiple media outlets from PANews, showcased a 'head of the family' pragmatic and resolute approach, candidly responding to and sharing the division of her new role, the 'white glove' rumors, predictions about the industry cycle, and Binance's future plans. She clearly stated that in the new stage, Binance's focus will return to users and technology, building systematic capabilities, and upgrading to a self-sustaining evergreen organization.
Regarding the much-discussed co-CEO structure, He Yi defines it as a strategic complement that is '1+1 > 2'.
She has a clear definition of the divisions of labor between the two; Richard Teng, with his deep regulatory background, serves as the best bridge for communication between Binance and global regulators, responsible for pushing compliance standards to new heights; while as an industry OG, He Yi returns to the internal focus, deeply embedding herself in user experience, corporate culture inheritance, and human resources operations. She pointed out that whether it is traditional financial giant JPMorgan or peer Bybit, the co-CEO system is not uncommon in modern enterprises that pursue equality and efficiency.
"I have a relatively big ambition to make Binance a company that remains evergreen." He Yi admitted that she began thinking about how to lead Binance as an 'organization' rather than just relying on 'individual capabilities' when she took over the HR department a year ago.
In management philosophy, He Yi admires Duan Yongping, appreciating his idea of building systems rather than relying on individual capabilities. She hopes that Binance can nurture new enterprises like OPPO, Vivo, Xiaotiancai, and Pinduoduo, "based on the BNB aircraft carrier, to support more outstanding entrepreneurs to succeed."
As one of the rare female leaders in the industry, He Yi refuses to label herself by gender and is also averse to workplace strategies that exploit 'female advantages.'
"Business competition is a scene where knives clash; no one will attack you less just because you are a woman; in fact, they may curse you even worse." He Yi believes that women should not self-limit, nor should they attempt to cover up professional inadequacies with communication skills. Whether in Web2 or Web3, the only way to gain respect is to excel in professional skills, whether in marketing, growth, or PR.
"Your flaws may be your strengths, but if you treat them as strengths, they may also become your flaws." He Yi suggested that the key to breaking the ceiling lies in finding the core strengths rather than relying on gender bonuses.
After taking office, He Yi will be responsible for three major lines at Binance, including continuing the 'user-centered' Binance culture, building an organizational system that goes beyond single-point capabilities, and incorporating AI and other technological innovations within the organization. She firmly believes that technological innovation is the fundamental driving force for the industry to move forward.
Denies the 'white glove' rumors and holds a cautious and open attitude towards new fields.
Recently, rumors in the market about 'Binance's white glove for listing tokens' have been rampant. In response, He Yi clearly stated in an interview that she adopts a zero-tolerance attitude towards such behavior.
"Binance has never had a white glove." He Yi stated flatly that the so-called relatives and close friends are all impostors. She pointed out that Binance does not charge listing fees, and the core condition is that the project party must provide users with airdrops or low-priced tokens.
It is precisely because the threshold is high and the standards are strict that scams attempting to profit from it have emerged. "If you know a little about Binance's equity structure, you would realize I don't need to do such things. That would be stealing money from my own pocket; do I need to steal money from my own pocket?"
He Yi stated that Binance welcomes reports and is willing to cooperate with law enforcement agencies to combat such fraud. She emphasized that as more licenses are issued, crypto is no longer a lawless land, and any attempt to undermine a fair and transparent market will be met with severe repercussions.
When discussing how to view hot sectors, He Yi also shared her reflections. She candidly admitted that she had made wrong judgments in the past due to a lack of understanding, saying, "I once said Binance wouldn't do contracts and that memes wouldn't work, but it turned out I was the one who didn’t understand." Therefore, she now maintains a more cautious and open attitude toward new fields, "never say never."
When discussing memes, she candidly stated that she feels a lot of pressure, saying, "If I post a meme and it goes up, everyone is happy; if it drops, they come to scold me." In her view, memes are carriers of market sentiment, but long-term they will still revert to value logic. What Binance can do is to ensure the quality of the listed projects and strive for as many benefits for users as possible.
Achieving the goal of 300 million users, the talent shortage has become the biggest challenge for Binance.
At the conference, Binance announced that its registered users have reached 300 million, with the next target set at 1 billion users.
Facing this achievement, He Yi admitted that she is a 'demanding boss' and pointed out that Binance still has many shortcomings, such as product experience not being smooth enough, localization needing to be strengthened, technical stability needing further improvement, and the industry image needing to be presented more actively to the outside world.
She particularly mentioned, "In the eyes of outsiders, the crypto circle is often a 'den of snakes and rats.' But the industry thrives together and suffers together, and Binance hopes to take the lead in demonstrating more positive values."
When discussing current challenges, He Yi candidly stated that it is a talent shortage. She indicated that the crypto industry has long been stigmatized, and compared to traditional finance and the internet sector, the candidate pool is significantly smaller. The talent Binance needs is someone who understands finance, understands crypto, and truly believes in the future of the industry. "If someone only wants to earn ten thousand dollars writing code and doesn’t care what their code does, it’s very difficult to build a world-class company."
For this reason, she is constantly searching for top talent globally, which has led outsiders to mistakenly believe that Binance is 'poaching talent.' He Yi clarified that this is not aimed at any specific company, but rather reflects the entire industry's talent shortage.
Additionally, regarding the global layout, He Yi also shared her views. Regarding the Hong Kong market, she believes that its regulatory framework has significantly improved, but local exchanges still face challenges in accessing global liquidity, and Binance will tread cautiously. When asked if BUSD would be restarted and if they would enter the U.S., she stated, "I want to try; if we can do it, we will do it, and I accept the reality. Binance is just a small company trying to survive in the cracks, and it cannot influence the government."
The underlying logic of crypto is changing, sharing investment strategies and life philosophies
When discussing the industry cycle, He Yi reminds investors that the underlying logic of the crypto market is changing.
"As Bitcoin moves from niche to mainstream, and sovereign nations and traditional financial giants enter the market, the theory of absolute cycles may no longer apply. The previously effective profit-making logic may fail in the new 'big pond.'" She pointed out that in the crypto industry, one must either hold the most decentralized leading assets (like BTC) or invest in the largest and most competitive companies in the industry (like BNB). The underlying logic of the world is interconnected.
He Yi also emphasized that retail investors still need to be protected. Therefore, Binance strives to balance market environments in terms of risk control, liquidity, and trading mechanisms to ensure fairness and safety in market operations.
At the end of the interview, He Yi reminisced about her dreams at the age of 18. From liking the phrase 'I want to try' from the novel (The Best of Times) to being reminded by friends that she has realized her childhood wish of 'becoming a person who influences the world,' He Yi expressed that her motivation has always remained unchanged; from being a host to starting a business, and now, she has always been a person who keeps trying.
She believes that the key to life is to accept emotions and changes, "Clouds in the blue sky, water in the bottle. Consider everything that happens as the best arrangement."
This article is reproduced from: (PANews)
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