Binance Singapore today announced the appointment of Richard Teng as CEO, boosting its leadership ranks with former regulators as it battles rising regulatory difficulties around the world.
Teng served as the CEO of the Abu Dhabi Global Market for six years until his retirement in March. Prior to joining SGX, Teng spent 13 years as the director of corporate finance at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). According to his LinkedIn page, he was instrumental in the creation and administration of Singapore’s Securities and Futures Act.
“We are seeing widespread adoption of blockchain and crypto technologies, necessitating a greater understanding and appreciation among individuals, institutions, and governments,” Teng said in a statement. “We intend to collaborate closely with industry leaders and policymakers to increase public awareness of this rapidly emerging industry and to foster its long-term viability.”
Binance — which operates the world’s largest cryptocurrency spot and derivatives exchange by trading volume — has come under fire from regulators worldwide for its stock tokens, derivatives trading services, and know-your-customer (KYC) methods. The exchange has been aggressive in growing its compliance staff, which has increased by 500 percent year over year as it strengthens its KYC and anti-money laundering safeguards. Binance stated on Friday that all users will be forced to undergo “intermediate verification” — which entails submitting their name, nationality, date of birth, residence data, government ID, and facial verification — in order to access Binance products and services.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) admitted during a July event that the exchange had “not done an excellent job interacting with regulators” and was looking to hire former regulators to improve contact with authorities. “This way, they become a part of our organization, understand what goes on here, and can communicate with their former colleagues in the same language,” Zhao explained. “Then communication will improve.” Zhao also stated that Binance is actively recruiting a successor – someone with solid compliance and regulatory expertise who will manage the company.
“We are delighted to have Richard leading the Binance Singapore team in securing more strategic partnerships, fostering innovation, and furthering the local cryptocurrency ecosystem in Singapore,” said Zhao in a statement. “Binance is not only a leader in technology innovation — but we will also be a leader in regulatory compliance. Having Richard joining us is a big step in that direction.”
Binance is currently operating in Singapore as Binance Asia Services without a license as part of the city-transitional state’s procedures for the supply of digital payment token services under the Payment Services Act. The exemption enables entities to continue providing services during the processing of their license applications. Binance Asia Service’s license application is currently being assessed, a representative for the Monetary Authority of Singapore told Forkast.News in July. The exemption will terminate upon approval, rejection, or withdrawal of an entity’s license application. Additionally, the MAS spokeswoman stated that the agency is “aware of the steps taken by other regulatory agencies against Binance and will follow up with the applicant as required.”
Also Read: Michae Saylor Talked About Apple’s And Bitcoin Future
Wallets