(Nov 8): Kaiser Ng, the chief financial officer at Binance Holdings Ltd, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is leaving, the company announced just days after hackers stole more than US$6 billion in cryptocurrency from the platform.

“Kaiser Ng has decided to pursue a new venture after more than five years at Binance, with a transition plan implemented over the last six months,” Binance co-chief executive officer Yi He said in a statement. “We wish him the best in his next chapter.” Justin Yek will become the firm’s new CFO, she said.

Hackers stole US$6.3 billion from Binance last week in the biggest heist in cryptocurrency’s history. It came as the industry leapfrogs into the mainstream at a time when the ascent of artificial intelligence presents ever-increasing cybersecurity challenges. 

Crypto exchanges Bitget, Bybit and other platforms have also suffered major hacks.

The FBI said on Oct 31 that North Korea was responsible for the Binance attack. The exchange subsequently said it had covered about 90% of the US$6.3 billion, making progress on its pledge to fully reimburse customers.

Ng joined the firm in January 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before Binance, he was at Kraken, another crypto exchange, for about five years. Ng did not immediately respond to a request for comment via Linkedin.

Yek was most recently at payments platform Airwallex as vice-president of finance.

“I am thrilled to step into the role of CFO at Binance,” Yek said in the statement. “I look forward to leading our finance organisation as we continue to scale responsibly and deliver on our mission globally.”

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