Hacker attack: Crypto platform Binance replaces CFO

Dusseldorf. Kaiser Ng, chief financial officer (CFO) of Binance Holdings, the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the world, is leaving the company. Ng will be succeeded by Justin Yek, who was previously vice president of finance at fintech firm Airwallex.

"After more than five years at Binance, Emperor Ng has decided to pursue a new venture. A transition plan has already been implemented over the past six months," Binance co-chief executive Yi He said in a statement. “We wish him all the best for the next phase of his life.”

Ng joined the company in January 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before joining Binance, he worked at Kraken, another crypto exchange, for about five years. Ng did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Bloomberg news agency.

The personnel change follows a hacker attack in which almost $6.4 billion in crypto assets flowed out of a double-digit number of hot wallets - most of it within 20 minutes. It was the largest cryptocurrency theft in history to date. The crypto exchanges Bitget, Bybit and other platforms were also affected by major hacker attacks. As the industry increasingly reaches the mass market, the rapid progress of artificial intelligence poses ever greater challenges to cybersecurity.

The FBI said on October 31 that North Korea was responsible for the attack on Binance. The crypto exchange subsequently said it had covered about 90 percent of the nearly $6.4 billion, making progress toward its promise to fully compensate customers.

Justin Yek said in a statement about his new position: "I am very excited about the role of CFO at Binance. I look forward to leading our finance organization as we continue to grow responsibly and advance our mission globally."