Binance chief financial officer Kaiser Ng has stepped down after five years in the role, with Justin Yek, most recently vice president of finance at Airwallex, taking over the company's finance leadership.

Ng announced his departure in a post on X on November 8, 2026, saying he will leave to build several ventures of his own, with plans spanning artificial intelligence, Web3 tokenization, sports, entertainment, and robotics. He described his time at Binance as one of the most rewarding periods of his career, despite the challenges facing the crypto industry.

The full text of his post:

After five years as CFO of Binance, I have decided to go build something of my own. The past ten years in the digital asset exchange space have felt surprisingly short, because I enjoyed what I was doing. Having passion for what you do is so important, and I will come back to this point. 8am to 2am became a work habit. When I felt exhausted past midnight, I would just look up at the Kobe Bryant's statue standing in the corner of my office, and go right back to the grind! It has been the privilege of my career to help steward the finances of the world's largest digital asset exchange through a period that tested our industry in every way: bull and bear cycles, Operation Choke Point 2.0, and a regulatory landscape that evolved as quickly as the technology itself. Finance is seldom the loudest function in a company, but it is where trust is earned. Over these five years, we transformed Finance from a pure back-office function into one that consistently generates new ideas and revenue opportunities for the company. We became amazing problem solvers. Finance understood the products and metrics as well as the business units themselves. Proud of what we have built together, and I am pleased to hand the keys to Justin, our next CFO. I want to take this opportunity to thank CZ, Yi, Richard, and the leadership team for their confidence and, above all, the amazing Binancians around the world whom I had the honor of working with. You are the reason the company stands where it does today. Binance is in very capable hands. The company continues to grow and evolve with the successful launch of TradFi assets and AI-powered user interfaces. I'd like to express my gratitude to MGX for the trust; to our home regulator Abu Dhabi Global Market and all regulators we work closely with; and to our business partners, including BlackRock, Circle, Franklin Templeton, Mastercard, our banking partners and payment channels, as well as our advisors and auditors. Special thanks to Grant Thornton Singapore and everyone who has supported Binance. As for what comes next, well, there isn't just one project but several that I am passionate about particularly in sports and entertainment, from basketball and music, to GPUs, robotics, gold and collectibles. Bringing these real-world assets onto the blockchain through tokenization is a massive opportunity for the industry, and a big unlock for everyone. I welcome anyone with a passion in these areas to message me and potentially join my team. Even better if you love Kobe ;) Moving from the CFO's chair to the founder's is a leap, and I take it with humility. I deeply believe it is where I can make a greater contribution to AI and Web3. For now, thank you, Binance, for five remarkable years.

— Kaiser Ng (@kaizng) November 8, 2026

Five Years Steering Binance Finance

During his tenure, the exchange navigated bull and bear markets, regulatory changes, and what Ng described as "Operation Choke Point 2.0" — a phrase used within the crypto industry to describe alleged pressure on U.S. banks to curtail services to digital asset firms. He also described a demanding schedule, at times working from 8 a.m. until 2 a.m., and said a statue of Kobe Bryant in his office helped him push through late nights.

Among the achievements he highlighted was the evolution of Binance's finance team from a conventional back-office role into a function that proactively generated business ideas and revenue opportunities. According to Ng, the team learned to understand Binance products, business metrics, and commercial operations in order to collaborate more closely with other departments, and came to know the company's products and metrics as well as the business units themselves.

In his farewell message, Ng thanked CZ, Yi, and Richard along with the leadership team for their confidence, as well as the "amazing Binancians" around the world, saying they are the reason the company stands where it does today. He pointed to the successful launch of TradFi assets and AI-powered user interfaces as evidence of Binance's continued growth, and said the company is "in very capable hands."

Ng also expressed gratitude to MGX for its trust; to Binance's home regulator, Abu Dhabi Global Market, and the other regulators the company works closely with; and to business partners including BlackRock, Circle, Franklin Templeton, and Mastercard, as well as banking partners, payment channels, advisors, and auditors. He gave special thanks to Grant Thornton Singapore.

The breadth of that acknowledgment list captures how the remit of an exchange CFO has expanded: the seat now spans institutional investors, global asset managers, payment networks, banking partners, and regulators across multiple jurisdictions.

Justin Yek Named Successor

Ng said he was handing the CFO role to Justin Yek. Reuters cited Yek as someone with long experience in the finance sector, most recently as vice president of finance at Airwallex, a global payments and financial technology company.

According to Ng, Binance had been preparing for the change of leadership for a full six months before the recent crypto breach. The transition became public less than a week after Binance on Oct. 29 admitted to losing $6.3 billion worth of cryptocurrency, but the exchange said Ng's resignation followed a "planned" transition and was not linked to the incident.

That timing puts Yek's arrival under a brighter spotlight than a routine CFO handover would typically receive, with the company's account of a planned succession unfolding against the backdrop of its disclosed loss. How the revenue-generating finance function Ng described carries forward under Yek is a natural point of focus for the institutional partners and regulators the role serves.

Ng's Next Chapter in AI, Web3, and Tokenization

Ng's next chapter involves multiple projects rather than a single business. He named basketball, music, GPUs, robotics, gold, and collectibles among the areas that interest him, particularly in sports and entertainment, alongside AI and Web3.

Through tokenization, he believes these real-world assets can be brought onto blockchain networks, which he called a massive opportunity for the industry, a big unlock for everyone, and a way to make conventional assets more accessible. He invited anyone with a passion in these areas to message him about potentially joining his team, noting that the move from the CFO's chair to the founder's seat is a leap he takes with humility and one where he believes he can make a greater contribution to AI and Web3.

The direction he has chosen sits on a theme the industry is already acting on — Binance itself cited its launch of TradFi assets as evidence of growth — which gives Ng's stated bet on tokenization a concrete reference point. What to follow from here is twofold: how Yek steers the finance organization he inherits, and which of Ng's announced ventures move from ambition to product.

This article was originally published by Crypto Ninjas.