Binance has named a new chief financial officer just over a week after hackers stole approximately $6.3 billion in cryptocurrency from the exchange in what is believed to be the largest digital asset theft on record.
Kaiser Ng is leaving the company after more than five years to pursue a new venture, Binance co-CEO He Yi said in a statement provided to FOX Business.
Justin Yek, a former finance executive at global payments firm Airwallex, will succeed him.
The announcement comes nine days after the Oct. 29 cyberattack, but a Binance spokesperson confirmed to FOX Business that the leadership transition was planned more than six months ago and had no connection to the security incident.
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"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.
The CFO change comes as Binance works to recover stolen assets and strengthen its cybersecurity defenses following the attack, which the FBI has attributed to North Korean hackers associated with an operation known as "TraderTraitor."
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Binance has pledged to absorb the losses rather than pass them on to customers. Co-CEO Richard Teng previously told FOX Business that customers would not bear any losses and that the exchange had replenished affected assets.
In a Nov. 3 update, Binance said it had replenished 98% of the affected token assets and that approximately $2.85 billion in stolen assets had been frozen or intercepted.
The exchange also said it was working with law enforcement and industry partners to trace the stolen funds while bolstering its cybersecurity defenses.
Binance said hackers used a fraudulent job interview to compromise an employee's computer before exploiting internal systems, including an artificial intelligence tool, to execute unauthorized cryptocurrency transactions.
Ng had served as Binance's CFO since January 2022 and previously worked at rival cryptocurrency exchange Kraken.
His successor, 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 previous experience at Morgan Stanley and Citi.
Yek said he was grateful for Ng's partnership during the transition over the past several months.
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"I look forward to leading our finance organization as we continue to scale responsibly and deliver on our mission globally," Yek told FOX Business.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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[ H/T Fox Business ]
