Binance’s Richard Teng denies FTX comparisons: ‘We welcome the scrutiny’

Binance regional markets head Richard Teng insists that the global cryptocurrency exchange is financially secure and in no way similar to bankrupt peer FTX despite recent regulatory scrutiny and regional challenges.

Speaking exclusively to Magazine editor Andrew Fenton in Singapore ahead of the 2023 Token2049 conference, Teng addressed a variety of different challenges being faced by Binance’s regional arms as well as playing down reports that he is being groomed to take the reigns from founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao in the future.

Teng said that, while Binance has faced different issues over the past couple of years, it has managed to tackle these on a case-by-case basis while remaining financially strong and able to process customer withdrawals.

Saw some debates in the community. When you do the right thing, and there is FUD, you don’t have to do anything. The community defends you.

Let me summarize. There have been a lot of negative news/rumors, bank runs, lawsuits, closing of fiat channels, product wind downs,…

— CZ Binance (@cz_binance) September 7, 2023

Commenting on a recent social media post from CZ that highlighted “negative news/rumors, bank runs, lawsuits, closing of fiat channels, product wind downs, employee turnover,” Teng said that comparisons to the failure of FTX were unjustified:

“There were different rumors and FUD after FTX. People tried to associate us, which is totally untrue. Our assets are backed one-to-one.”

He also addressed recent Cointelegraph exclusives that revealed high-level executives had departed Binance as well as another report on the company’s ties with Russian banks. Teng said that the exchange’s stellar growth in the space of six years continues to leave it in the spotlight.

“All this scrutiny will come from being the largest — scrutiny from regulators, scrutiny from the media — and we welcome the scrutiny.”

Teng said that Binance has not yet made a decision regarding its franchise that serves the Russian market while maintaining that the company continues to adhere to international norms and standards in regards to sanctioned entities and individuals:

“On our plans for Russia, we have stated very clearly in the last couple of weeks that all options are on the table. We continue to explore what we need to do for that particular franchise going forward.”

Meanwhile, maturing regulatory frameworks in various jurisdictions are also being welcomed by the global exchange. Teng said that the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation could benefit exchanges universally by creating standardized rules for the industry:

“This disparate treatment, it makes life very difficult for global platforms like for ourselves. In terms of local deployment, we need to understand how the rules and regulations are very different. So, what we hope for is harmonized standards.”

Teng said that MiCA was a “step in the right direction” in providing the 23 EU member states with a consistent set of standards, which in turn could lead to a wider convergence of global regulatory guidelines for the industry.

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