Binance CFO Kaiser Ng Exits Nine Days After Record $6 Billion Hack

Binance Chief Financial Officer Kaiser Ng is stepping down nine days after hackers drained more than $6 billion from the exchange, with Airwallex finance executive Justin Yek named as his replacement. Co-CEO Yi He announced the move in a statement on Saturday, according to Bloomberg, and said a transition plan had been in place for the past six months — long before the Oct. 29 breach.

That timing matters. Six months of succession planning puts the groundwork well ahead of the largest crypto theft on record, and Binance wants that distinction understood clearly.

Yi He said Ng "has decided to pursue a new venture" after more than five years at the company, according to Reuters. The statement did not specify when the departure takes effect or what Ng plans to do next.

Who is taking over the finance desk?

Justin Yek arrives from Airwallex, the cross-border payments firm, where he was most recently vice president of finance. Ng joined Binance as CFO in January 2022, according to his LinkedIn profile, and previously worked at rival exchange Kraken. He leaves after a tenure that spanned the exchange's post-settlement era with U.S. regulators and now its response to an unprecedented exploit.

The handover puts a payments-industry operator in charge of finance at the moment Binance is absorbing a multi-billion-dollar loss from its own balance sheet. That is no ordinary closing assignment.

What happened in the hack?

On Oct. 29, attackers drained more than $6 billion from Binance across multiple blockchains. The FBI has attributed the attack to TraderTraitor, a North Korean state-linked hacking group also known for targeting crypto firms.

The operational response has been swift:

• Binance replenished roughly 95% of the affected assets with its own funds as of Nov. 2.
• The exchange completed a proof of reserves snapshot that same day.
• Withdrawals have begun restoring, The Block reported.
• Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic says the hackers have since swapped stolen tokens for $124 million in bitcoin.

The Elliptic figure points to active laundering. Converting stolen assets into bitcoin is a standard first step for North Korean groups before moving funds through mixing services.

What does this change for the exchange?

For Binance, the CFO swap raises a practical question about continuity. A finance chief departing mid-crisis, even under a planned transition, means the person signing off on recovery accounting will not be the person who built the exchange's financial reporting through its regulatory cleanup years.

Yek inherits the immediate tasks: completing the remaining replenishment of affected assets, defending the proof of reserves process against scrutiny, and keeping counterparties and regulators confident in the balance sheet. His payments background at Airwallex suggests an emphasis on treasury and cross-border flows — skills directly relevant to managing asset recovery across multiple chains.

The company line is firm on sequencing. Yi He's six-month framing separates the leadership decision from the hack, and nothing in the public record contradicts it. Still, the calendar invites the question, and Binance knows it.

Watch for the effective date of Ng's exit and confirmation of full withdrawal restoration — both will signal how quickly the exchange can close the operational chapter of the largest theft in crypto history.