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In summary
- When Richard Teng took over as CEO of Binance in November, he knew he was filling an important position.
- Teng said he never intended to match Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, one of the biggest personalities in the Cryptocurrency world.
- Under Teng’s leadership, Binance has adopted a more traditional corporate leadership structure and focused on obtaining regulatory licenses and hiring compliance and legal professionals.
When Binance CEO Richard Teng took over from his predecessor Changpeng “CZ” Zhao in November, he knew he was filling an important position.
But the newly appointed executive of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume said he never intended to be the next CZ, at least in the sense of trying to match one of the biggest personalities in the cryptocurrency world.
“I don’t think I can fill those gigantic shoes,” Teng told Decrypt in an interview. “It was never the intention.”
In fact, Teng, believed to be 54 or 55 years old, hopes to make his mark on Binance by doing exactly the opposite. CZ is “a giant, he is an icon, he is a legend within this industry,” Teng said. “But the important thing is that he has left a very important company and has entrusted that company in the hands of me” and the key managers.
Over the past year under Teng, Binance has undergone a series of structural and strategic changes aimed at making the company more palatable to a hyper-cautious new crop of regulators and policymakers. He noted that Binance has now adopted a more traditional corporate leadership structure consisting of a three-member board, is focusing on hiring compliance and legal professionals, and is working to obtain more licenses to operate in new markets.
The new CEO is much more cautious, and much less extravagant, than CZ, who is banned from returning to the exchange he founded.
Born in Singapore, the quiet Teng spent much of his career as a civil servant, serving as director of corporate finance at Singapore’s top regulator for 13 years. He later worked as chief compliance officer of the Singapore Stock Exchange and then as CEO of Abu Dhabi Global Market.
He joined Binance in 2021 and most recently served as global head of regional markets.
Under Teng’s leadership, Binance has secured regulatory licenses to operate in Dubai, Kazakhstan and Thailand, expanding its presence in key emerging markets. And last month, the exchange got the green light to operate in India, one of the largest cryptocurrency markets in the world. The series of approvals underscores a critical focus for Teng during his tenure: Stepping up Binance’s regulatory compliance efforts.
Binance’s increased focus on regulatory compliance comes at a time when strict regulatory frameworks such as Europe’s Markets for Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) are coming into effect.
“The landscape of the (cryptocurrency industry) has changed quite a bit,” Teng said. “There are more and more rules and regulations coming into this space. The direction of travel is very clear.”
This is a marked difference from Binance’s past. The exchange has a long history of fighting with federal regulators and law enforcement. Over the past two years, the trading platform has faced issues in almost every corner of the world, as regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency exchanges has intensified.
In 2023, Australian bank Westpac banned its customers from sending funds to Binance, forcing the exchange to stop supporting Australian dollar deposits and withdrawals from bank accounts, causing a major disruption to the trading platform’s operations in Asia. Peaceful.
Meanwhile, Binance pulled out of Canada in May 2023, citing the implementation of new regulations for cryptocurrencies in that country.
And on the other side of the Atlantic, the exchange has not had better luck. Binance was forced to reconsider its European expansion plans in 2023 after German and Dutch regulators refused to license the company. That same year, the trading platform also faced an investigation into its anti-money laundering practices in France.
But its problems in the US became particularly acute for the exchange’s charismatic founder. In November 2023, Binance and CZ pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. The exchange paid $4.3 billion to settle the case, and as part of the massive settlement, CZ was sentenced to four months in a correctional facility in California.
He was released from prison last week, but remains prohibited from rejoining Binance’s senior management.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether CZ’s departure from the company turns out to be a boon for Binance.
Under its new leader, the company boasts a more traditional and formal air, very similar to that of Teng himself. While CZ seems to personify Crypto Twitter, known for hurling insults at the mainstream media and dismissing unfavorable reports about his company’s operations as “FUD,” Teng is deliberate and diplomatic in his interactions with the press and public.
Amid Teng’s efforts to distance the company from its scrappy, bleak roots, the firm also plans to hire more employees focused on compliance and other professionals, a move that could help further repair the company’s image. Binance’s website lists approximately 353 job openings at the time of publication; More than 70 are destined for regulatory or legal compliance roles.
Teng also said the company is actively working on establishing a global headquarters for the company, something its leaders have promised to do for years due to pressure from regulators and law enforcement agencies.
“Over the last 10 months, I think what’s been significant… is that (Binance) is quite a different company,” he said.
When asked about Binance’s progress in selecting a location for its global headquarters, Teng declined to set a timeline for the process or reveal which cities the exchange is considering. He later avoided answering a question about Binance’s international arm that previously served US users, and cast doubt on a report that claimed Binance had processed trades from users based in mainland China with the simple explanation of that Binance does not publicly disclose its user data.
The evasive answers were more tasteless and polished than what CZ could have said. And that, surely, was the whole point.
Additional reporting by Sander Lutz
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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