Astana, November 8. Binance cryptocurrency exchange chief financial officer Kaiser Ng is leaving the company after more than five years, and Justin Yek will succeed him, agencies reported.
The departure was announced a week after a hack in which, according to Reuters, about 6.3 billion dollars was stolen from the exchange.
Binance co-CEO Yi He said Ng decided to leave himself and a handover plan had been in place for the past six months, according to the company’s statement. Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, the agency noted. The company gives no reason for the departure other than a new venture.
The hack took place in the last days of October. On October 30 Binance halted withdrawals after outflows of more than 3 billion dollars, then said it had set aside more than 6.34 billion dollars of its own funds to cover losses, and on November 1 it resumed withdrawals. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attributed the theft to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Pyongyang denies it, and US President Donald Trump doubted the FBI’s version.
What it means: Binance presents the CFO’s departure as a planned handover begun six months ago; the official reason is Ng’s new venture. Any link with the biggest hack in the company’s history remains only a coincidence in timing: the company does not mention one.
Who benefits: The sources give only the company’s version: the departure is planned and the handover has been under way for six months. Who benefits from this version, and whether the departure is linked to the hack, Binance does not say; agencies only note that the event came a few days after the hack.
Background: Kaiser Ng worked at Binance for more than five years. Kazakhstan’s National Bank said the exchange hack did not affect the country’s crypto reserve.
We have also reported on Binance setting aside 6.34 billion dollars to cover losses, on the fact that the FBI attributed the theft to the DPRK, and on the National Bank’s statement that the hack did not affect Kazakhstan’s crypto reserve.
