Last updated: October 30, 2026
Richard Teng is the co-CEO of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and the former financial regulator who took over after founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023. On Oct. 29, 2026, hackers drained about $6.3 billion from Binance, which CNBC called the largest crypto theft on record. In a video on Oct. 30, Teng said Binance would cover every loss with company money, aimed to reopen withdrawals by Sunday and promised a full proof-of-reserves report by Monday. How he handles the next few days will decide whether a regulator-turned-crypto-boss can keep users’ trust.
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Quick facts
Born: Singapore. His age has not been publicly confirmed.
Company: Co-CEO of Binance (CEO since November 2023, co-CEO with co-founder Yi He since December 2025)
Previous jobs: CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market. Chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Exchange. Director of corporate finance at the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Education: Bachelor of Accountancy (first class), Nanyang Technological University. Master’s in applied finance (distinction), University of Western Australia.
Joined Binance: August 2021, as CEO of Binance Singapore
Net worth: Not published. Neither Forbes nor Bloomberg publishes an estimate for him.
Known for: Cleaning up Binance after its $4.3 billion U.S. settlement, and now leading its response to the record $6.3 billion hack
Who is Richard Teng?
Richard Teng is a rule-maker who switched sides. For about 30 years he worked in financial regulation, according to Binance. He spent 13 years at Singapore’s central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, rising to director of corporate finance. He then became chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Exchange, where he oversaw the rules for listing, trading and clearing.
In 2015 he moved to Abu Dhabi to run the financial regulator at Abu Dhabi Global Market, a new financial center. Binance says that in less than five years it grew to nearly 2,700 registered licenses and more than 150 approved financial institutions, and it often quotes a Forbes article that called him “one of the world’s foremost innovative regulators.” He was among the first officials to write rules for crypto, Binance co-founder Yi He has said.
In August 2021, Teng joined the company he might once have policed. He started as CEO of Binance Singapore, then ran the Middle East, Europe and eventually all markets outside the U.S. On Nov. 21, 2023, Zhao pleaded guilty to breaking U.S. anti-money laundering law and stepped down, and Binance agreed to pay $4.3 billion. Teng got the top job the same day. His pitch was simple: a former regulator would make Binance safe for regulators. In December 2025, Binance named Yi He as co-CEO alongside him.
That pitch now faces its hardest test. The $6.3 billion hack hit Binance’s own “hot wallet,” the account it uses to pay out withdrawals. Teng’s answer has been to promise that no user loses a dollar.
Career timeline
Early career: Spends 13 years at the Monetary Authority of Singapore and becomes director of corporate finance.
Before 2015: Holds several senior jobs at the Singapore Exchange, ending as chief regulatory officer.
2015: Becomes CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market. He holds the job for about six years.
August 2021: Joins Binance as CEO of Binance Singapore.
2021–2023: Takes over Binance’s Middle East, European and then all non-U.S. regional markets as head of regional markets.
Nov. 21, 2023: Named Binance CEO after Zhao pleads guilty and steps down as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities.
March 2025: Abu Dhabi’s MGX invests $2 billion in Binance, paid in USD1, the stablecoin of the Trump family-linked World Liberty Financial.
Oct. 23, 2025: President Trump pardons Zhao.
Dec. 3, 2025: Binance names co-founder Yi He as co-CEO alongside Teng.
Oct. 29, 2026: Hackers take about $6.3 billion from Binance. Withdrawals are suspended.
Oct. 30, 2026: Teng says in a video that Binance has set aside more than $6.34 billion to cover all losses.
Notable deals & projects
The $4.3 billion settlement (2023): Teng took over as part of the deal that resolved the U.S. case against Binance. It included a five-year monitorship by the Treasury’s financial crimes unit, FinCEN, and required Binance to leave the U.S. market. Binance.US was not affected.
MGX’s $2 billion investment (2025): The Abu Dhabi tech investor MGX made the largest investment ever in Binance, settled in World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin. Reuters and others reported the deal drew scrutiny because of the Trump family’s ties to World Liberty.
A two-CEO structure (2025): Binance made co-founder Yi He co-CEO, with Teng saying she plays “a critical role in growing our community and driving product innovation as we work to reach one billion users.” Binance said at the time that it was nearing 300 million users.
Covering the hack (2026): Teng says Binance has reserved more than $6.34 billion of company funds, $5 billion of it already in the exact tokens that were stolen. It is buying the rest on exchanges and in over-the-counter deals.
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What he’s known for
Being the grown-up in the room: Binance hired a career regulator to rebuild trust with governments after years of fights with them. Reuters described his job in 2023 as an “uphill battle” against compliance costs, lawsuits and shrinking market share.
Talking directly to users: During the hack, he has posted video updates on X instead of hiding behind statements.
Promising to make users whole: Binance did the same thing in 2019, when hackers stole 7,000 bitcoin, and Teng has repeated the promise for a loss that is many times larger.
In the news
Oct. 29, 2026: Hackers drained about $6.3 billion from Binance. Most of it left Binance’s wallets in about 20 minutes starting around 4:05 p.m. ET, TRM Labs told the BBC. Binance said about $3 billion was quickly frozen on the blockchain with the help of partners. Withdrawals were suspended. Deposits kept working.
Oct. 29–30, 2026: Binance first said the attack may have started with a “compromised DevOps engineer’s laptop.” Blockchain analysis firms TRM Labs and Chainalysis said they had high confidence that North Korea’s TraderTraitor hacking group, also known as Lazarus, was behind it. North Korea has always denied such hacks.
Oct. 30, 2026: In a video on X, Teng said the attack “was not carried out by one person” and had more points of breach than the laptop. He said the attacker used an Ethereum feature called EIP-7702 to take control of a hot wallet in a way that “did not pass through our normal approval controls,” and used a “self-destruct mechanism” to erase its tracks.
Oct. 30, 2026: Teng said Binance aims to restore withdrawals by Sunday, about 40 hours away, and publish a full proof of reserves by Monday. The FBI said it was “aware of the incident,” and the U.S. Secret Service said it was working “around the clock” to trace and recover the funds.
Oct. 30, 2026: Bitcoin fell more than 4% to about $78,000, CNBC reported. The previous record crypto hack was the roughly $1.5 billion theft from Bybit in 2025.
Quotes
“We are committed to covering all hacked losses through our company funds. Your assets are safe.” — Video address on X, Oct. 30, 2026
“We never use any customer funds, so they are not impacted.” — Oct. 30, 2026
“This was not carried out by one person. Our initial investigation suggested that the security incident may have involved a compromised laptop, however our subsequent investigation has uncovered additional points of breach.” — Oct. 30, 2026
“We remain dedicated to being the most trusted and regulated exchange in the world, always putting our users first.” — Announcing Yi He as co-CEO, Dec. 3, 2025
Controversies / criticism
The record hack: The theft happened on Teng’s watch, at a company that sells itself on security. Binance’s own early account pointed to one employee’s laptop. Teng later said the attack was broader, and the full sequence of events is still not known. Zhao noted on X that, unlike at Mt. Gox and FTX, Binance users are being covered: “It hurts, but we survive.”
Binance’s legal past: Teng took over a company that had admitted to U.S. violations. The Treasury said Binance failed to report more than 100,000 suspicious transactions. It remains under a five-year FinCEN monitorship.
Political ties: The MGX deal’s use of World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin, followed by Trump’s pardon of Zhao, drew criticism over conflicts of interest. Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported on Binance’s work with the Trump-linked company before the pardon.
Net worth & money
Neither Forbes nor Bloomberg publishes a net worth estimate for Richard Teng, and Binance, a private company, does not disclose his pay. The fortune tied to Binance belongs mostly to its founder, Changpeng Zhao. What Teng controls is Binance’s balance sheet: he says the company can absorb a $6.34 billion hit because it keeps much of its operating earnings in crypto.
FAQ
Who is Richard Teng?
Richard Teng is the co-CEO of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. He is a former financial regulator from Singapore who became Binance’s CEO in November 2023.
What happened in the Binance hack?
On Oct. 29, 2026, attackers took about $6.3 billion from Binance’s own hot wallet. About $3 billion was frozen. Analysts suspect North Korea. Binance says it will cover all losses with company money.
Is my money safe on Binance?
Binance says user funds were not touched and that it will cover every loss. Withdrawals were paused while it rebuilt its systems, with a goal of reopening them by Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026.
Who runs Binance now?
Richard Teng and co-founder Yi He are co-CEOs. Founder Changpeng Zhao stepped down in 2023 and was pardoned by President Trump in October 2025.
What did Richard Teng do before Binance?
He ran the financial regulator at Abu Dhabi Global Market, was chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Exchange and spent 13 years at the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
How much is Richard Teng worth?
There is no published estimate from Forbes or Bloomberg.
Further reading
Binance discovers multiple breach points in $6.3 billion attack, eyes Sunday reopening — CoinDesk
Binance Finds ‘Additional Points of Breach’ in $6.3B Hack — Decrypt
Binance hack updates: US Secret Service says it is helping to track funds — BBC News
Binance hack: $6.3 billion impacted in record crypto theft — CNBC
Security Incident Update (2026-10-30) — Binance
Binance CEO Teng braced for uphill battle in post-Zhao era — Reuters
The Profile: The financier trying to save his hedge fund & the world’s largest crypto exchange — The Profile
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