TLDR
- Binance CFO Kaiser Ng is leaving to pursue a new venture after more than five years at the exchange.
- Justin Yek, formerly vice president of finance at Airwallex, is the new CFO.
- Binance said a transition plan had been in place for the last six months.
- The change came just over a week after hackers stole $6.3 billion in the largest crypto heist on record.
- Binance said it has covered 95% of the stolen assets and will fully reimburse customers.
Binance has named Justin Yek as its new chief financial officer. He replaces Kaiser Ng, who is leaving the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange to pursue a new venture.
The company announced the change on Saturday, November 7. It came just over a week after hackers stole $6.3 billion from the platform in the largest crypto theft on record.
Binance said the leadership change was planned well in advance. Co-Chief Executive Officer Yi He said a transition plan had been in place for the last six months.
A Planned Handover at the Top
“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,” Yi He said in a statement. The company did not share details about Ng’s next role.
Ng has served as Binance’s CFO since January 2022. That means he spent close to five years in the top finance job.
Before joining Binance, Ng worked at rival crypto exchange Kraken. This is according to his LinkedIn profile.
Yek joins Binance from Airwallex, a payments company. He was most recently vice president of finance there.
Reuters described Yek as a longtime finance executive. He now takes charge of the exchange’s finances as it works to repay customers hit by the hack.
Inside the $6.3 Billion Breach
Binance said the theft unfolded on October 29. However, the attack started months before that date.
Binance just changed its CFO nine days after the $6.3B hack.
Kaiser Ng is leaving after more than five years (CFO since Jan 2022) to "pursue a new venture." His replacement is Justin Yek, most recently VP of finance at Airwallex.
Binance says this was planned — a transition…
— EveningAI (@eveningb1123) November 8, 2026
Attackers first broke into the computers of several Binance employees. The company traced the intrusion to malware hidden in software downloads.
The hackers also used fake job recruitment offers aimed at Binance engineers. The exchange has described the overall operation as a sophisticated attack.
The FBI has blamed a North Korean hacking group for the theft. It linked the group to the attack on October 31, two days after the breach unfolded.
Pyongyang has denied the allegation. North Korea rejected the accusation in early November.
Binance has pledged to fully reimburse all affected customers. The exchange has not reported any change to that promise since the CFO announcement.
In early November, Binance said it had already covered 95% of the stolen assets. That leaves about 5% of the losses still to be covered under its pledge.
Yek steps into the CFO role with that repayment effort still underway. Binance has not said when the remaining 5% will be covered.
