Binance chief financial officer Kaiser Ng said on Nov. 8 that he has decided to leave the exchange after five years in the role to build his own venture, and named Justin Yek as Binance’s next CFO.
In a post on X, Ng wrote: “After five years as CFO of Binance, I have decided to go build something of my own.” In a later reply the same day, he said he had informed management of his decision months earlier and that the transition itself took months.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) said in a Nov. 8 response that 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, without announcing an investment commitment.
Richard Teng added a supportive reply on Nov. 9, saying he had enjoyed working alongside Ng and expected excitement ahead.
Tokenization focus for next chapter
Ng linked his next chapter to interests in tokenization across sports, entertainment and other assets. In his original post, he described projects he was passionate about, ranging 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. He presented a range of possible directions without announcing a company name, product launch or timetable, and did not set out funding terms for the projects.
Ng also reflected on the finance operation he helped build, crediting the team with developing ideas and revenue opportunities beyond a back-office function and describing a broader contribution to Binance’s business. He thanked colleagues, regulators, business partners, advisers and auditors.
The sources do not give Justin Yek’s start date, an effective handover date or a venture launch.
