After Binance founder, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges and agreed to pay $4.3 billion fine to the US authorities, it was time to quit as CEO of world’s niggest cryptocurrency exchange.
An obvious heir apparent, a man called Richard Teng has now taken over as CEO of Binance on Tuesday.
Richard took to his official X handle to tweet: “It is an honour and with the deepest humility that I step into the role of Binance’s new CEO.
“We operate the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume. The trust placed on us by our 150m users and thousands of employees is a responsibility that I take seriously and hold dear.
“With CZ, and our leadership team’s support, I have accepted this role so that we can continue to meet and exceed the expectations of stakeholders while achieving our core mission, the freedom of money.
“The foundation on which Binance stands today is stronger than ever.
“To ensure a bright future, I intend to use everything I’ve learned over the past three decades of financial services and regulatory experience to guide our remarkable, innovative, and committed team.”
Hinting on his plans for Binance, Teng said: “My focus will be on:
1) reassuring users that they can remain confident in the financial strength, security and safety of the company
2) collaborating with regulators to uphold high standards globally that foster innovation while providing important consumer protections
3) working with partners to drive growth and adoption of Web3.”
He assured Binance users that Binance would have no issues.
“We are here to stay. Please lend me your support. Excited for the days ahead!,” he tweeted on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Binance founder, CZ has also announced his retirement as CEO of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange via his X handle.
He tweeted: “Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance. Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.
“Binance is no longer a baby. It is time for me to let it walk and run. I know Binance will continue to grow and excel with the deep bench it has.
“I’m pleased to announce that @_RichardTeng, our now former Global Head of Regional Markets, has been named the new CEO of Binance today.
“Richard is a highly qualified leader and, with over three decades of financial services and regulatory experience, he will navigate the company through its next period of growth. He will ensure Binance delivers on our next phase of security, transparency, compliance, and growth.
“Prior to joining Binance, Richard was CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM); Chief Regulatory Officer of the Singapore Exchange (SGX); and Director of Corporate Finance in the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
“With Richard and the entire team, I’m confident that the best days for @Binance and the crypto industry lay ahead.
“As a shareholder and former CEO with historical knowledge of our company, I will remain available to the team to consult as needed, consistent with the framework set out in our U.S. agency resolutions.”
He further revealed his direction in the coming years.
“What’s next for me? I will take a break first. I have not had a single day of real (phone off) break for the last 6 and half years.
“After that, my current thinking is I will probably do some passive investing, being a minority token/shareholder in startups in areas of blockchain/Web3/DeFi, AI and biotech. I am happy that I will finally have more time to spend looking at DeFi.
“I can’t see myself being a CEO driving a startup again. I am content being an one-shot (lucky) entrepreneur. Should there be listeners, I may be open to being a coach/mentor to a small number of upcoming entrepreneurs, privately. If for nothing else, I can at least tell them what not to do.”
He took some time to leave clarification on his case with US authorities.
“On that note, I am proud to point out that in our resolutions with the U.S. agencies they:
– do not allege that Binance misappropriated any user funds, and
– do not allege that Binance engaged in any market manipulation.
“Funds are SAFU! With that, I look forward to seeing the new leadership take the reins. Please join me in congratulating Richard on his well-deserved promotion.”
Richard Teng was a one-time Abu Dhabi regulator appointed to oversee Binance’s regional markets outside the U.S. back in June of this year. At that time, he gave an interview to CoinDesk, pointing out that he wanted to show that Binance could be “a new organization.”
