Binance CFO Kaiser Ng to Exit After $6.3 Billion Hack

By Amara Osei

Binance’s chief financial officer, Kaiser Ng, is leaving after hackers stole $6.3 billion worth of cryptocurrency from the exchange’s users, Bloomberg reported. The announcement came barely more than a week after the theft.

Bloomberg reported that Justin Yek will replace Ng as CFO. Co-CEO Yi He said in a statement that Ng’s departure will allow him to “pursue a new venture after more than five years at Binance.”

Yi He also said a transition plan had been “implemented over the last half year.” The disclosure puts the handover in place before the public departure announcement and provides context for Yek’s immediate appointment.

How did Binance respond to the theft?

Bloomberg reported that Binance froze withdrawals for several days after hackers stole $6.3 billion worth of cryptocurrency from user accounts. The restriction held customer withdrawals in place before Binance unfroze the accounts.

Once accounts were unfrozen, users withdrew a net $3.6 billion in the first few hours, Bloomberg reported. The $3.6 billion measured the immediate net withdrawal activity after the freeze; the reported theft totaled $6.3 billion.

The sequence was measurable: a multi-day freeze, followed by restored accounts and $3.6 billion in net withdrawals within hours. It also showed how quickly funds could leave the platform once access resumed, a dynamic Yek now inherits as CFO.

Who was blamed for the $6.3 billion hack?

Binance and the FBI blamed a North Korean group called TraderTraitor for the hack, according to Bloomberg. Both Binance and the FBI therefore directed the blame at the same organization. That attribution did not transfer the reimbursement obligation away from Binance.

Separately from that attribution, Binance promised full coverage for users. The company said: “Binance will bear the financial impact of the stolen funds. These losses will not be passed on to users.”

The wording makes the allocation of risk explicit. Binance said it would bear the financial impact of the $6.3 billion theft, not pass those losses to users, even though users withdrew a net $3.6 billion within the first few hours after accounts were unfrozen.

That promise is consequential for the incoming CFO because it keeps the loss with Binance rather than customer accounts. Yek will manage that exposure while completing a leadership transition that Yi He said had been prepared over six months.

What does the leadership handover mean?

The handover carries a specific operational rationale. Yi He said the departure would allow Ng to pursue a new venture, while the half-year transition plan gives the exchange time to prepare for Yek’s appointment.

Bloomberg’s report placed the personnel decision and security response in the same short news cycle. The CFO announcement came barely more than a week after the $6.3 billion theft.

Bloomberg’s report did not say that Ng’s departure resulted from the hack or the attribution to TraderTraitor. The stated reason was his plan to pursue a new venture after more than five years at Binance, and the announcement described a six-month transition.

For Yek, the immediate agenda combines two disclosed workstreams: taking over the CFO role and leading finance at an exchange that has promised to absorb the stolen funds. The withdrawal freeze has ended. The company’s reimbursement pledge does not assign those losses to users.

The next test for Yek and Binance will be execution: cover the losses from the $6.3 billion theft, manage customer withdrawals after a multi-day freeze and execute the finance transition prepared over six months. The exchange has made the loss allocation clear; its ability to deliver on that promise now sits with Yek’s finance operation.