During Binance Blockchain Week – a major conference held earlier in Istanbul on November 2023, CryptoPotato had the chance to speak to Binance’s Richard Teng.

It’s worth noting that, at the time, Teng was serving as Binance’s Head of Regional Markets, as the conference took place before the most recent Binance developments.

Recall that on November 21st, the United States Department of Justice settled charges against the cryptocurrency exchange, bringing an investigation spanning back to 2018 to a close. Binance had to pay a hefty fee, while CZ, the company’s former chief, had to step down.

Richard Teng has since taken the position of Binance’s new CEO.

The interview, conducted in the vibrant backdrop of Istanbul, captured Teng’s enthusiasm for the industry, as well as his excitement for Binance’s future plans – which gets an even better spotlight as he becomes the CEO of the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume.

Who is Richard Teng?

In one of our latest coverages, you can find out everything you need to know about Teng, but during our interview, Teng reminisced that the quick foray of cryptocurrencies in traditional finance circles fascinated him.

In 2017, like every March, I attended a futures conference in the US, Boca Raton, Florida. At that meeting, unlike earlier ones, which were mainly attended by mostly TradFi exchanges, asset managers, and regulators, that particular meeting, I saw a lot of crypto players coming through, speaking on the subject matter of crypto. That fascinated me.

As the CEO of Abu Dhabi Global Market at the time, Teng realized the potential of cryptocurrencies and spearheaded regulatory frameworks, making them one of the first global entities to regulate crypto. His personal journey into the crypto world began with opening an account and trading, underlining his belief in deeply understanding a field to regulate it effectively.