The massive $1.4 billion Bybit hack on February 21 has lit a fire under Binance, with CEO Richard Teng calling for a beefed-up focus on security across the crypto world. Speaking during a Binance live session kicking off Ramadan on February 28, 2025, Teng made it clear: user protection and security are top dogs now, especially after last week’s record-breaking heist—the biggest in crypto history.
“Safety and security can’t be stressed enough right now, especially after what went down with Bybit,” Teng said in the livestream. “At Binance, we’ve poured a ton into security and compliance over the years—it’s front and center for us.” He touted Binance’s creds as the most regulated exchange out there, with licenses in 22 jurisdictions, and promised to double down on those efforts. But he’s frustrated that security’s still flying under the radar elsewhere in the industry.
“Regulators aren’t zeroing in on security enough,” Teng griped. “I was chatting with them at Consensus in Hong Kong last week—before the Bybit mess even hit—and I’ve been pushing them to step up.” He pointed to Binance’s own playbook, like their Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), launched back in July 2018. That fund, fueled by 10% of trading fees, acts as a safety net for users if things go sideways—like a cyberattack. “We’ve done our part to shield users, but there’s no universal standard,” he said. “Every player’s got their own rules, and that’s a problem—we’re gonna keep hammering that point.”
Bader Kalooti, Binance’s Regional Growth and Operations Lead for MENA, backed him up, saying security’s always been “top of mind.” He spilled some details on their multi-layered approach—think multi-factor authentication and AI that’s constantly sniffing out sketchy moves. “In 2024 alone, we stopped $1.2 billion in potential losses with that real-time monitoring,” Kalooti bragged. They even give users a unique code to double-check legit Binance emails and dodge scams.
With Bybit’s $1.4 billion wake-up call still ringing, Teng’s on a mission: get regulators and the industry to lock in universal security standards pronto. For Binance, it’s not just talk—they’re ready to lead the charge.
