Richard Teng, a former chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and director of corporate finance at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has succeeded Zhao Changpeng as the CEO of Binance. Zhao stepped down on Tuesday (Nov 21) and pleaded guilty to breaking US money laundering laws as part of a US$4.3 billion settlement resolving a years-long probe into the world’s largest crypto exchange.
According to a biography on Binance’s website, Mr Teng received his bachelor’s degree in accountancy from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) before achieving his master’s degree in applied finance from the University of Western Australia.
Prior to joining Binance, he was CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market. Mr Teng joined Binance in August 2021 as CEO of Binance Singapore.
Soon after, he held roles overseeing the Middle East and North Africa region, the European region, and eventually all regions outside of the US as the head of regional markets.
“In this role, he led regional teams to secure strategic partnerships, foster an ecosystem of innovation, and expand the cryptocurrency ecosystem within the respective regions,” said Binance.
“We operate the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume. The trust placed on us by our 150 million users and thousands of employees is a responsibility that I take seriously and hold dear.”
Mr Teng said his focus as the new CEO of Binance will be on reassuring users that they can remain confident in the company’s financial strength, security and safety.
He added that he will collaborate with regulators to “uphold high standards globally that foster innovation while providing important consumer protections”, and work with partners to “drive growth and adoption of Web3”.
CNA
