Binance Names CFO Days After $6.3B Crypto Hack
Binance has appointed Justin Yek, a former Airwallex finance executive, as chief financial officer to replace Kaiser Ng. The exchange says the change was planned six months ago and is unrelated to the Oct. 29 hack, which took about $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency.
Binance has named Justin Yek as its new chief financial officer, just over a week after hackers stole about $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency from the exchange. Binance names CFO days after what is believed to be the largest digital asset theft on record.
Yek, a former finance executive at the global payments firm Airwallex, succeeds Kaiser Ng. Ng is leaving after more than five years to pursue a new venture, Binance co-CEO He Yi said in a statement.
The announcement came nine days after the Oct. 29 cyberattack. A Binance spokesperson said the leadership change was planned more than six months ago and has no connection to the security incident.
Planned handover, the company says
"Kaiser Ng has decided to pursue a new venture after more than five years at Binance, with a transition plan implemented over the last half year," He Yi said.
Ng had served as CFO since January 2022. He previously worked at rival exchange Kraken.
Yek most recently served as Airwallex's vice president of finance. The payments company announced his appointment as head of strategic finance and corporate development in February 2023, noting his earlier experience at Morgan Stanley and Citi.
Recovery after the hack
The FBI has attributed the attack to North Korean hackers linked to an operation known as "TraderTraitor." Binance says it is working to recover stolen assets and strengthen its cybersecurity defenses.
In a Nov. 3 update, Binance said it had replenished 98% of the affected token assets. It said about $2.85 billion in stolen assets had been frozen or intercepted.
The exchange said it is working with law enforcement and industry partners to trace the stolen funds.
Binance said the hackers used a fraudulent job interview to compromise an employee's computer. They then exploited internal systems, including an artificial intelligence tool, to carry out unauthorized cryptocurrency transactions.
Binance has pledged to absorb the losses rather than pass them on to customers. Co-CEO Richard Teng has said users will not bear any losses, that the exchange takes full responsibility and that affected assets have been replenished.
Yek said he was grateful for Ng's partnership during the transition over the past several months. "I look forward to leading our finance organization as we continue to scale responsibly and deliver on our mission globally," he said.
