Richard Teng, the new chief executive of Binance, said the crypto sector remains robust. Pawan Singh / The National
Richard Teng, the new chief executive of Binance, said the crypto sector remains robust. Pawan Singh / The National
Richard Teng, the new chief executive of Binance, said the crypto sector remains robust. Pawan Singh / The National
Richard Teng, the new chief executive of Binance, said the crypto sector remains robust. Pawan Singh / The National

New Binance boss Richard Teng pledges to work with regulators after ‘missteps’


Alvin R Cabral
  • English
  • Arabic

The new chief executive of Binance has admitted to "missteps and misguided decisions", as the company pledges to work closely with regulators to boost regulation in the highly volatile cryptocurrency industry.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange sees no need to change its core user-centric "mantra" in the aftermath of a legal case that resulted in erstwhile chief executive Changpeng Zhao stepping down, Richard Teng told The National in an interview.

Mr Teng, the former chief executive of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market, stressed that taking responsibility for any missteps is "what financial institutions should do".

"Financial institutions do encounter challenges in terms of compliance and should take responsibility for that. And we move on. Now is a new chapter. Our mantra is the same – we focus on financial freedom for everyone," he told The National at the Fortune Global Forum in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Mr Zhao last week pleaded guilty to criminal charges and resigned from his position as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the US Department of Justice, as federal prosecutors revealed charges including breaking US anti-money laundering laws, unlawful money transmitting and sanction breaches.

At the moment, aside from "being a resource for only historical areas of the business", he plans "to rest and probably do mentorship for people, invest into this sector and many other sectors that are of interest to him", Mr Teng said.

The cryptocurrency industry has struggled with a spate of challenges, most notably regulators attempting to establish some control over the industry.

Despite this, the sector remains "robust", with new investors and funds flowing through that are being used to build new projects, Mr Teng said.

Binance predicts growing collaboration between crypto players and authorities, contributing to "regulatory certainty", he said.

However, the engagement of authorities on crypto regulations in different jurisdictions is "disparate" – but those who focus would be at the forefront of what is believed to be the future of finance, he said.

"Where policymakers and regulators are willing to spend time, energy and resources to understand the sector, the opportunities and the innovation that the sector brings, as well as how risk can mitigated, [they can be leaders]," Mr Teng said.

"And those are things that are needed for users to have better trust and greater confidence to bring about mass adoption."

Crypto adoption is currently at around 5 per cent, and this would spike to between 20 per cent and 30 per cent "in a short matter of time", Mr Teng said, citing Binance data.

"If you look [at] three years ago, virtually there were no or few jurisdictions regulating crypto, but that trend has started to shift," he said.

"You have different regulators and indeed different traditional finance players with different attitudes towards this. You can't dictate that. Over time, you can only try to change that for the better – knowledge and education – which is what we and other industry players need to do."

Mr Teng also disagreed with the "preconceived notion" that the crypto sector is beset with illicit money and money laundering issues.

While these concerns have been highlighted in several studies, the amount of illicit funds flowing through cryptocurrencies is less than 1 per cent of all crypto funds, Mr Teng said, quoting industry figures.

Blockchain data platform Chainalysis, in its 2023 Crypto Crime Report, noted that illicit activity in cryptocurrency was less than 1 per cent of overall volume.

"I can assure you crypto is a traceable technology. We do a lot of training for law enforcement agencies for them to gain insights into this technology ... a lot of education still needs to take place," Mr Teng said.

The campaign will boost crypto adoption, which is expected to be "much sharper" in the next five years compared with the previous five, he said.

"We do hope to see much greater harmonisation of standards over time," Mr Teng said. "Just like what you see in the banking sector, it's very clear what are the rules and requirements for global banking, global securities firms and asset management firms. And we hope to reach that destination for crypto sooner rather than later."

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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Meydan Racecourse racecard:

6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes Listed (PA) | Dh175,000 1,900m

7.05pm: Maiden for 2-year-old fillies (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m

7.40pm: The Dubai Creek Mile Listed (TB) Dh265,000 1,600m

8.15pm: Maiden for 2-year-old colts (TB) Dh165,000 1,600m

8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh265,000 2,000m

9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m

10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,600m.

Results:

5pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,200 metres

Winner: Jabalini, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Younis Kalbani (trainer)

5.30pm: UAE Arabian Derby (PA) | Prestige | Dh150,000 | 2,200m

Winner: Octave, Gerald Avranche, Abdallah Al Hammadi

6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round 3 (PA) | Group 3 Dh300,000 | 2,200m

Winner: Harrab, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Ali

6.30pm: Emirates Championship (PA) | Group 1 | Dh1million | 2,200m

Winner: BF Mughader, Szczepan Mazur, Younis Al Kalbani

7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (TB) | Group 3 | Dh380,000 | 2,200m

Winner: GM Hopkins, Patrick Cosgrave, Jaber Ramadhan

7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) | Conditions | Dh70,000 | 1,600m

Winner: AF La’Asae, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

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The biog

Name: Timothy Husband

Nationality: New Zealand

Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney

Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier

Favourite music: Billy Joel

Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia

The Details

Kabir Singh

Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series

Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa

Rating: 2.5/5 

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Updated: November 28, 2023, 8:33 AM