Bybit Co-CEO Helen Liu to Depart

Helen Liu's ascent at Bybit was rapid, joining in 2020 as the head of HR from a traditional corporate background that included roles as HR Director at Nokia's Global Supply Chain Division and Microsoft's Asia-Pacific Operations Center. She was promoted to COO in 2022 before her brief tenure as co-CEO which began in 2025. Co-founder Ben Zhou will now resume his role as the sole CEO. The company has stated it will not seek a replacement for the co-CEO position, expressing confidence in its current leadership structure to maintain operational continuity and strategic focus on global expansion. Liu's departure follows a period of significant growth for Bybit, which saw its spot market share increase eightfold to 9.4% by the end of 2023. The exchange, which moved its headquarters to Dubai in 2022, has grown to serve over 20 million users. This executive change comes after a turbulent period for the exchange. In February 2025, Bybit suffered the largest crypto exchange hack on record, losing approximately $1.4 billion in Ethereum, though the firm reported it replenished its reserves within 72 hours. This followed an October 2024 settlement where Bybit paid $228 million to the FTX estate. During her time at Bybit, Liu was responsible for daily operations, sales and marketing, and Web3 development for a team of over 1,700. She also founded Moledao, a platform to support blockchain developers, and was involved with the Blockchain for Good Alliance, to which Bybit invests around $5 million annually. High-profile executive departures are not uncommon in the crypto space. In 2023, rival exchange Binance saw an exodus of at least ten key executives, including its head of Asia-Pacific, chief strategy officer, and general counsel, amid mounting regulatory challenges.