Kaiser Ng has stepped down as chief financial officer at Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, following a record-breaking security breach. Yi He, Binance co-CEO, confirmed the departure in a statement reported by Bloomberg News on Saturday, Nov. 7. Ng is leaving to pursue a new venture after more than five years with the company.
Leadership Transition at Binance
Ng’s departure comes just days after hackers stole $6.3 billion from the platform, an incident described as the largest heist in cryptocurrency history. The FBI has attributed the attack to North Korea. Binance stated it has covered approximately 90% of the stolen funds and is working to fully reimburse affected users.
Justin Yek will assume the role of finance chief. Yek brings experience from major financial institutions including Citi and Morgan Stanley. He most recently served as vice president of finance at payments platform Airwallex. He expressed enthusiasm for the new position in a statement, noting his intent to lead the finance organization as the company scales responsibly.
Security and Reimbursement Efforts
The timing of the leadership change coincides with intense scrutiny over crypto exchange security. The Binance breach mirrors other major incidents, such as the $1.5 billion hack of ByBit exchange last year. While Binance users are being protected from immediate losses, the recovery of the stolen assets remains uncertain.
PYMNTS reported last week that the underlying criminal proceeds and the infrastructure enabling their movement have not been significantly disrupted. The report highlighted that small exchanges may not have the financial resources to replicate Binance’s response. It also noted that reimbursement does little to address downstream consequences of stolen assets moving through the financial system.
Ng joined Binance in 2022 after a five-year tenure at rival crypto exchange Kraken. His LinkedIn profile confirms this timeline. The transition plan for his departure was implemented over the last six months, according to Yi He. She wished Ng the best in his next chapter.
The incident has intensified debate over digital asset infrastructure and its integration with traditional finance. Kraken recently obtained a limited purpose account with access to the U.S. Federal Reserve System, signaling a shift toward traditional financial mechanisms. Questions remain about who can intervene when security failures occur and whether current infrastructure provides meaningful mechanisms for enforcing the law.
Source: PYMNTS
