A brief statement released late at night stirred up the entire cryptocurrency community. CZ, the founder of a leading global exchange, suddenly posted, setting the tone for an eight-year personnel arrangement with a single sentence: "He Yi should have been in this position from day one."

This woman, who was once a TV host, has just officially become the exchange's co-CEO. When the news broke, many long-time users weren't surprised; instead, their first reaction was, "Finally."

Let's rewind to 2017. At that time, the exchange had just been established, and He Yi was already doing the toughest, most exhausting work—global roadshows, building communities, answering user questions. For a while, she was practically a "24/7 customer service," still handling user issues at 3 a.m. It was through this relentless effort that the user base grew from zero to millions.

What really made her memorable was that regulatory storm. During the investigation of CZ, He Yi went live without makeup, publicly disclosed the cold wallet address on the spot, tore up the executive resignation letter, and said a phrase that has since been quoted repeatedly: "I am this exchange." That livestream stabilized the shaken community.

Now her partner is Richard Teng, a former senior official at Singapore's financial regulatory authority. CZ's assessment is straightforward: one understands users and can fight battles, the other focuses on compliance and can blaze new trails. This setup clearly aims to find a new balance between compliance and expansion.

The data is indeed convincing. The platform has nearly 300 million users worldwide, with 50 million added in the past year. Keep in mind that the regulatory environment has not been friendly this year, so achieving growth against the odds shows that user trust is the key support.

From a rural area in Sichuan to Travel TV, and now to co-CEO of the world's largest crypto exchange, He Yi's journey has been anything but ordinary. In a way, CZ's comment, "It should have been this way a long time ago," is also a belated recognition from the entire industry for those who get things done.

The dual-CEO model is not uncommon in traditional financial institutions, but it's still a fresh experiment in the cryptocurrency space. One is responsible for user ecosystem, the other focuses on regulatory compliance—this division of labor may be the most pragmatic choice in the current environment. Whether they can lead the platform through the next cycle, the market will give the answer.