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Binance CEO Richard Teng interviewed, admits difficulty replacing CZ, what is the new gesture "3"?

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Binance CEO Richard Teng interviewed, admits difficulty replacing CZ, what is the new gesture "3"?

Binance's new CEO Richard Teng Wei-Zheng accepted an interview with Cointelegraph. He believes that Binance's explosive growth since 2017 has come at a heavy cost in terms of compliance.

CZ Seeks Survival, Binance Welcomes a New Era of Compliance

Richard Teng took over as CEO from Zhao Changpeng CZ on November 21st. He emphasized to Cointelegraph that Binance is different from its early days and that the past compliance gaps no longer exist:

I am taking over to continue driving growth plans and working closely with global regulatory authorities. The regulatory clouds that hung over Binance in recent months are dissipating, especially after reaching a $4.3 billion settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. As one of the conditions of the settlement, CZ is not allowed to participate in the company's daily operations.

Binance's Rapid Early Growth Led to Compliance Failures

He believes that Binance's explosive growth since 2017 resulted in heavy compliance costs in the future.

Richard Teng recalled how CZ transformed Binance from a team of six people into a global institution with thousands of employees serving over 166 million users:

There were some compliance gaps in the early days of building Binance, which led to these subsequent mistakes. However, this is all in the past, and Binance has always ensured the safety and security of user funds. U.S. regulatory authorities have conducted a thorough review of us to reach a settlement, and there have been no allegations of misappropriating customer funds.

Fines Are Not Uncommon, Binance Will Focus on Regulatory Compliance

In fact, both BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes and Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz have expressed dissatisfaction with how regulators treat Wall Street institutions and crypto companies.

BitMEX Founder Criticizes U.S. Justice System, Recounts Famous Financial Scandals in Support of Binance and CZ

Richard Teng responded by saying:

Fines are not uncommon in the financial industry. If you look at the list of fines imposed on financial institutions in the past, the figure is close to $90 billion. Whether Binance is a case or not, we may now be one of the most regulated exchanges globally, and we are very focused on compliance.

Richard Teng: CZ is Irreplaceable

He described CZ as an inspiring and focused mentor who is difficult to replace. However, given the current situation, Richard Teng believes that new faces and new approaches also have different advantages, such as his extensive regulatory experience.

On December 1st, Richard Teng held his first regular AMA as the CEO of Binance, taking over from CZ. He mentioned being asked to take a selfie with "4" like CZ, but he felt the need to establish something of his own, so he chose to replace it with "3".

This represents his 3 commitments as CEO of Binance:

  1. Always putting users first

  2. Working with regulatory authorities to maintain standards

  3. Collaborating with partners to develop Web3

Richard Teng explained that the "3" gesture is also a famous three-finger salute in the UAE, representing Win, Victory, and Love.