Richard Teng is the CEO of Binance who previously served as the Head of Regional Markets at the exchange. He is a Singaporean cryptocurrency executive and former regulator with over three decades of experience in financial services. He had previously served as the CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market, as the Chief Regulatory Officer of the Singapore Exchange (SGX), and as the Director of Corporate Finance at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. ^[1][4]

On November 21, 2023, Binance announced that Richard Teng would be taking over as the new CEO of Binance effective immediately replacing Binance founder Changpeng Zhao as CEO. ^[5][6] The change in leadership came as CZ and Binance both settled charges with the United States Department of Justice. ^[1][2][3][7]

Education

In 1998, Richard Teng graduated from The University of Western Australia with a master's degree in Applied Finance with distinction. He previously graduated from Nanyang University in 1994 with a degree in Accountancy with first-class honors. In 2004, he participated in an Executive Leadership Program at The Wharton School. ^[1][4]

Career

Binance

Richard Teng became the CEO of crypto exchange Binance on November 21, 2023. The exchange announced that Richard Teng would be taking over as the new CEO effective immediately replacing Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. ^[5]

From a Binance blog post:

"Effective immediately, Richard Teng, Binance’s now-former Global Head of Regional Markets, succeeds CZ as CEO. Richard is a highly qualified leader and, with over three decades of financial services and regulatory experience, he will navigate the company through its next period of growth." ^[5]

Richard Teng posted a tweet explaining what he plans to focus on as the new CEO of Binance ^[8]:

"It is an honour and with the deepest humility that I step into the role of Binance’s new CEO.

We operate the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume. The trust placed on us by our 150m users and thousands of employees is a responsibility that I take seriously and hold dear.

With CZ, and our leadership team’s support, I have accepted this role so that we can continue to meet and exceed the expectations of stakeholders while achieving our core mission, the freedom of money.

The foundation on which Binance stands today is stronger than ever.

To ensure a bright future, I intend to use everything I’ve learned over the past three decades of financial services and regulatory experience to guide our remarkable, innovative, and committed team.

My focus will be on:

1. reassuring users that they can remain confident in the financial strength, security and safety of the company
2. collaborating with regulators to uphold high standards globally that foster innovation while providing important consumer protections
3. working with partners to drive growth and adoption of Web3

We are here to stay. Please lend me your support. Excited for the days ahead!"^[8]

CZ also posted on X about the leadership transition with Richard Teng taking over as CEO, an excerpt ^[9]:

"I’m pleased to announce that @_RichardTeng, our now former Global Head of Regional Markets, has been named the new CEO of Binance today.

Richard is a highly qualified leader and, with over three decades of financial services and regulatory experience, he will navigate the company through its next period of growth. He will ensure Binance delivers on our next phase of security, transparency, compliance, and growth.

Prior to joining Binance, Richard was CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM); Chief Regulatory Officer of the Singapore Exchange (SGX); and Director of Corporate Finance in the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

With Richard and the entire team, I’m confident that the best days for @Binance and the crypto industry lay ahead.

As a shareholder and former CEO with historical knowledge of our company, I will remain available to the team to consult as needed, consistent with the framework set out in our U.S. agency resolutions."^[9]

The change in leadership came as CZ and Binance both settled charges with the United States Department of Justice and pleaded guilty to money laundering violations. CZ paid $50 million in fines and Binance paid $4.3 billion in fines in a settlement with the United States Department of Justice. ^[7]

Before becoming CEO, Teng became the Head of Regional Markets at Binance in May of 2023. At the time CoinDesk called him a rising star and suggested that he may replace CZ. ^[10]

In an interview with Coin Bureau on what's next for Binance, Richard stated:

"We are now focusing on moving the organization forward into not only being a user-focused organization, which is our mantra and that will always be the case, but also being a compliance-focused organization."^[17]

On User Funds and Compliance:

"Our business is strong; our capital structure is debt-free. We are very bullish on future growth. As part of the US settlement and resolution, the US Agencies scrutinized operations in great detail, and there are no allegations or indications that user funds are misappropriated." - Richard Teng

And finally, on Binance's Future:

"We are very bullish about the future. With all these institutional players coming in and with clarity of regulations, that will bring about a much more robust vibrant dynamic ecosystem, and we intend to continue to be a champion on that front."^[17]

On November 10, 2023, as the Head of Regional Markets, Richard Teng announced the launch of the Binance Web3 Wallet at Binance Blockchain Week Istanbul. ^[16]

Before becoming the Head of Regional Markets, Richard was the Regional Head of Asia, Europe, and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) from April to May 2023. He was the Regional Head of Europe and MENA from November 2022 to April 2023. ^[4]

He was Regional Head of MENA, from December 2021 to October 2022. He first joined Binance as the CEO of Binance Singapore in August of 2021. ^[4]

Abu Dhabi

Before joining Binance, Richard Teng was the CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), joining the regulatory body in March 2015. The ADGM is the international financial center in Abu Dhabi and was created in 2013 to contribute to the UAE's economic diversification, as well as consolidate long-term growth. ^[1]

The market became fully operational in 2015, under Richard's leadership, and is made up of three authorities: the Financial Services Regulatory Authority, the Registration Authority, and ADGM Courts. The ADGM was the first jurisdiction in the region to adopt common law in its entirety. ^[11]

In 2017, the ADGM introduced several new programs to foster investment and growth including a private real estate investment trust regime, a new venture capital framework for fund managers, and an aviation financing scheme. ADGM also launched the first foundation regime in the UAE and is leading the way in establishing a fintech regulatory framework and a regulatory laboratory. ^[11]

In 2017, ADGM was named Financial Centre of the Year (MENA) for the second time by Global Investor ISF. Abu Dhabi’s financial market was also recognized as the top fintech hub in the Middle East and Africa category of the Connecting Global FinTech: Interim Hub Review 2017 by Deloitte and the Global FinTech Hubs Federation. Registered companies in the ADGM market increased by almost 350 percent in the year to October 2017 and the number of special purpose entities registered in ADGM doubled to reach almost 150, together with a fivefold increase of licensed financial entities. ^[11]

Singapore

Richard joined ADGM from the Singapore Exchange (“SGX”) in September 2007, where he was the Chief Regulatory Officer. Richard also held several senior appointments at SGX including Senior Vice President, Head of Issuer Regulation and Chief of Staff for Risk Management and Regulation, and Head of Regulation. ^[1][4]

Prior to SGX, Richard served as the Director of the Corporate Finance Division of the Monetary Authority of Singapore from 1997 to 2004. ^[1][4]

During his 13 years at MAS, where he rose to become director of corporate finance, he was part of the team that started initiatives such as GIC/Temasek, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, providing capital to encourage the growth of the asset/fund management scene, consolidating local banks, opening up the banking sector to international players and building the private banking sector, and merging Singapore International Monetary Exchange, Securities Clearing and Computer Services and Singapore Stock Exchange to become present-day Singapore Exchange (SGX). ^[12]

He was posted to New York where he spent two years setting up an MAS outpost to promote Singapore as a financial center in overseas markets.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have been part of that transformation journey. Those were exciting times: the adrenalin rush, rolling out new efforts and initiatives,” - Teng recalls

He left MAS in 2007 for SGX where he became chief regulatory officer in 2014. At SGX, he established a direct listing framework for Chinese companies, introduced a regulatory framework for secondary listings, and augmented safeguards in the stock market. ^[12]

Board Positions

In April 2021, Richard Teng joined UAE-based LuLu Financial Group, a holding company with investments in financial services and products spanning the GCC, Indian sub-continent, and APAC regions, as a part-time Board Director until 2022. ^[4][13]

Speaking on his appointment, Mr. Richard Teng said:

“It is a privilege to join the Board of Lulu Financial Holdings that has seen exponential growth under the inspirational leadership of Mr. Adeeb Ahamed. I look forward to supporting the Holding company in expanding its global footprint, with the introduction of more financial services products and services that meet the demands of the evolving market needs in the new digital economy.”  ^[13]

In July 2021, Richard was announced as an Advisory Board Member at Blockchain Association Singapore (BAS). ^[14]

“It is a privilege to join the Advisory Board of Blockchain Association Singapore. I look forward to providing strategic guidance to the BAS in promoting education, exchange of ideas, and thought leadership in the areas of blockchain and digital assets.” - Richard Teng commented on his appointment. ^[14]

He was also appointed as an International Council Member at Global FinTech Institute in July 2021, before joining Binance. Richard Teng still holds both Board positions at BAS & Global Fintech Institute. ^[4][15]