Binance CFO Kaiser Ng exits to build AI and tokenization ventures

What happened

Kaiser Ng said on Nov. 8 that he is stepping down as Binance's chief financial officer after five years to start his own company. The exchange had announced the leadership change a day earlier, on Nov. 7, and co-CEO Yi He said Justin Yek would become CFO. Yek was most recently vice president of finance at payments firm Airwallex. Yi He said a transition plan had been implemented over the previous six months.

In an X post, Ng described several projects rather than a single venture. His interests include basketball, music, graphics processing units, robotics, gold and collectibles, as well as sports and entertainment properties. He argued that moving such real-world assets onto blockchains through tokenization represents a major opportunity for the industry and invited people interested in those areas to contact him about joining a team. He also described the move from CFO to founder as a leap.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao responded that Ng had shared plans to build a startup several months earlier and that YZi Labs, the investment firm formerly known as Binance Labs, is always interested in backing ventures founded by current or former colleagues. Zhao did not say whether YZi Labs would invest in Ng's company. Ng's farewell thanked Binance leadership and staff and said the exchange is in capable hands; Bitcoin.com News reported that he also thanked regulators, banking partners, advisers, auditors and MGX.

Ng joined Binance in January 2022 after about five years at Kraken, according to his LinkedIn profile cited by Unchained. His post did not mention the Oct. 29 hack in which about $6.3 billion was drained from Binance hot wallets, a theft the FBI has attributed to North Korea's TraderTraitor group. Binance has pledged to reimburse affected users.

Why it matters

The change puts a new finance chief in place while Binance is still working through its pledge to cover customer losses from the Oct. 29 theft. Yek inherits the finance function at a time when the exchange's reimbursement effort is under scrutiny. The reports note that both Zhao's account and Binance's six-month transition timeline place planning for Ng's exit before the hack, so the departure is not presented as a direct response to the incident.

Ng's next step also points to a broader theme in crypto: tokenizing conventional assets and using AI in Web3. His stated interests overlap with areas Binance itself has explored, including tokenized securities and AI agent tools. If his venture proceeds, it could add another entrant in a field that exchange executives have described as promising, though the reports do not provide a company name, funding or launch date.

What the data shows

The reports give these figures and dates: Ng spent five years as Binance CFO and joined in January 2022 after about five years at Kraken; Binance announced the change on Nov. 7 and Ng posted on Nov. 8; Yi He described a six-month transition; Yek came from Airwallex; the Oct. 29 hack involved about $6.3 billion, with Bitcoin.com News citing 18,270.2 BTC; MGX's minority investment was $2 billion in March 2025; Ondo Global Markets joined Binance Alpha in February; Binance introduced seven AI agent skills in March; and Teng's tokenization outlook covered 12 to 18 months.

Background

Binance has been developing products around tokenized assets and AI. Its Bstocks conversion program let eligible users convert supported third-party tokenized securities into certificates backed by underlying securities, providing financial exposure without direct share ownership, subject to restrictions. Ondo Global Markets joined Binance Alpha in February, giving eligible users outside the U.S. economic exposure to securities such as Apple, Nvidia and Tesla, according to Bitcoin.com News. In March, Binance rolled out seven AI agent skills connecting automated agents with market information, trading execution and security analytics.

In May, Binance's Richard Teng said the following 12 to 18 months could be defining for tokenization, emphasizing regulation, institutional access, adoption and settlement infrastructure. Separately, Abu Dhabi-based MGX acquired a minority stake in Binance through a $2 billion investment in March 2025, a deal Ng acknowledged in his farewell, according to Bitcoin.com News.

What is still unclear

Several details remain open in the reports. Zhao did not confirm whether YZi Labs will back Ng's company. Ng did not name the venture, disclose funding or give a launch timeline, and his post did not address the hack. Binance also did not provide further detail on the transition beyond Yi He's statement that it had been implemented over six months. It is therefore not clear how the new CFO's priorities will differ or when Ng's projects will begin operating.

What to watch

Readers should watch how Yek handles Binance's finance function and the reimbursement process for users affected by the Oct. 29 theft. Also relevant is whether YZi Labs or other investors commit capital to Ng's venture, and which of his proposed asset categories move first. Binance's own tokenization and AI initiatives, including tokenized securities access and AI agent tools, may provide a comparison point as Ng builds outside the exchange.

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