Binance chief financial officer Kaiser Ng announced on Nov. 8 that he is stepping down after five years in the role to build a venture of his own, with his next chapter focused on tokenizing real-world assets. The exchange has named Justin Yek as its next CFO. At a company that ranks among the world's largest crypto exchanges, the handover arrives as tokenization — issuing blockchain-based representations of assets such as treasuries, commodities or real estate — has drawn growing interest from both crypto-native firms and traditional financial institutions.

In a post on X, Ng wrote: "After five years as CFO of Binance, I have decided to go build something of my own."

He linked his next venture to interests in tokenization across sports, entertainment and other asset classes, but did not announce a company name, product launch or timetable for the effort — omissions that leave the venture's shape and funding as details to watch.

Months of preparation

In a follow-up reply later on Nov. 8, Ng said he had informed Binance management of his decision months earlier and that the transition process itself took months.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) likewise described advance knowledge of the plans. In his Nov. 8 response to Ng's announcement, CZ said Ng had shared his intention to build a startup months earlier, praised his work and wished him success. CZ also expressed YZiLabs' general interest in backing ventures founded by current or former colleagues; the firm operates as a Web3-focused venture investor.

Richard Teng, Binance's chief executive, added a supportive reply on Nov. 9, saying he had enjoyed working alongside Ng and expected excitement ahead.

A tokenization-centered next chapter

In his original post, Ng described several projects he said he was passionate about pursuing. His interests ranged from basketball and music to GPUs, robotics, gold and collectibles, which he discussed in connection with tokenization.

Sports and entertainment feature alongside computing hardware and physical assets in that list. The common thread in his account is an interest in bringing real-world assets onto blockchains — a field that has moved beyond experimentation in recent years, with tokenized treasuries, money-market funds and gold among the asset classes drawing participation from established financial institutions.

Ng presented a range of possible directions for his next chapter without announcing a company name, product launch or timetable. He also did not set out funding terms for the projects, and CZ's general willingness to back colleague-founded ventures supplies no commitment to any particular one. Until those specifics surface, the direction of Ng's new venture and the pace of the CFO handover to Yek are the points to watch.

Ng also reflected on the finance operation he helped build at Binance. He credited the team with developing ideas and revenue opportunities beyond a back-office function, describing a broader contribution to the company's business, and thanked colleagues, regulators, business partners, advisers and auditors.