Binance CEO Teng envisions a new dawn for crypto in the Trump administration

Binance CEO Richard Teng said that the crypto ecosystem might have a fresh reset under the new Trump administration. Teng maintained that the company was waiting for more clarity from the U.S. before making plans in the crypto market.

Teng said in an interview with Bloomberg News on the outskirts of the Consensus crypto conference in Hong Kong that Trump’s recent changes in the crypto space made him confident of a fresh restart. The firm’s executive acknowledged that the exchange had made occasional noises about establishing a global headquarters. He disclosed that Binance had a number of different locations under “careful consideration” and that the board wanted to land on one “very soon.”

Teng believes the crypto market will have a fresh reset

We're so stoked to have caught @_RichardTeng's session this morning at Day 1 of @consensus_hk: More than Bitcoin: Shaping the Future with Binance. 🤩

Got to listen to him speak about #Binance's future in the #crypto space and more interestingly on a broader scope, the potential… pic.twitter.com/gNGahawybN

— OAX (@OAX_Foundation) February 19, 2025

Richard Teng said that the crypto space was on the brink of a fresh reset and a restart. The chief executive officer of Binance argued that the United States under President Donald Trump had moved on from a crypto regulatory regime marked by “a bit of oppression.”

He also mentioned that cryptocurrency executives had frequently complained that U.S. financial watchdogs under previous President Joe Biden engaged in “regulation by enforcement.” Teng also revealed that the enforced regulations resulted in a spate of high-profile lawsuits and hefty fines levied on companies, including Binance.

The CEO said that Trump’s series of crypto-friendly moves in the months since the inauguration made him confident of a fresh reset in the crypto space.

The exchange had halted its U.S. operations following a June 2023 lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The lawsuit accused Binance and its then-CEO Changpeng Zhao of mishandling customer funds, misleading investors and regulators, and breaking securities rules.

Zhao pleaded guilty in November to anti-money laundering and sanctions violations. Binance later agreed to pay $4.3 billion in a sweeping settlement with the U.S. Speaking at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Teng highlighted that the company has been working to reshape itself after the U.S. settlement. He also added that Binance set up a board of directors after he joined as the CEO.

Teng also expressed his reservations about some of the local regulatory restrictions, such as the number of tokens one can trade and limitations on futures trading. Binance’s application list on its website revealed that the company had not applied for a crypto license in Hong Kong. The firm’s CEO argued that “you have to make it very conducive for players like ourselves.”

Binance seeks to leverage AI to enhance efficiency

Richard Teng also shared his insights on how Binance is leveraging AI, not just for customer support agents, but also to enhance the “effectiveness and efficiency” of their compliance functions. He had previously stated at the Cardano Summit in October last year that the company intended to make compliance a competitive advantage. The company had invested $213M into compliance, a 30% increase over the previous year.

“So, we are exploring AI in different facades of the organization to make it a very high performance organization.”

~ Richard Teng, CEO of Binance.

Teng argued that people were trying to harness AI in terms of how they develop, which were the key positives. He added that there will be a convergence and utilization of Binance and AI technology and how they build products and projects on a broader industry level. At the organization level, Teng said the company can’t afford to add more people to its more than 6,000 staff to support its global deployment.

He maintained that the exchange was not only exploring the use of AI to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of customers’ compliance functions. Functions like KYC, KYB, transaction monitoring, and market surveillance were included in the scope of improving customers’ compliance. Teng also added that the company was still considering the use of AI to improve them.

After Teng stepped into the role of Binance’s CEO, he mentioned that he would collaborate with regulators to uphold high standards globally. Teng argued that high standards will foster innovation while providing important consumer protections.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao teased on February 15 an upcoming BNB Chain tutorial on creating AI agents, aligning with the chain’s 2025 AI integration strategy. The company’s roadmap indicated that it aims to embed AI-powered tools into wallets, which will assist users with trading and payments.

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