Finance

40% growth in institutional, corporate investors

Published

8 months ago

September 19, 2024

Binance CEO Richard Teng speaks in Singapore on Sept. 17, 2024, at an event hosted by the local foreign correspondents association.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has seen a 40% increase this year in institutional and corporate investors joining the platform, CEO Richard Teng told CNBC’s Lin Lin in an interview Wednesday.

“Allocation into crypto by institutions is just at the tip of the iceberg. It’s just beginning, because a lot of them are still doing their due diligence,” Teng said on the sidelines of the Token2049 conference in Singapore. He became CEO in November 2023.

“So we on our own, we are seeing a huge uptick in terms of institutional and corporate investors. We have seen a 40% increase in onboarding in that category throughout the course of this year alone,” he said. Teng did not name specific firms or share how large they were.

The stated growth reflects how so-called big money is warming up to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and now willing to work with an exchange that was hit with a U.S. probe and $4.3 billion settlement.

Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire co-founder and former CEO of Binance, stepped down last year as part of the settlement. Zhao remains a major shareholder, Teng said.

Teng noted how Binance has pivoted from a founder-led company to one led by a board with seven directors — a structure he said that regulators are more used to.

Trump-backed crypto platform announces new details on token offering: CNBC Crypto World

Teng joined Binance in 2021 as CEO of the company’s Singapore operations. He was previously CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at Abu Dhabi Global Market and chief regulatory officer of the Singapore Exchange, among other roles.

Bitcoin launched in 2009, paving the way for many other cryptocurrencies based on similar blockchain technology. The tech eliminates the need for a third-party intermediary by quickly creating a permanent and secure record of transactions between two parties.

More institutions coming in

After years of regulatory uncertainty, the U.S. in January approved the the first exchange-traded funds for spot prices of bitcoin. In July, the U.S. allowed trading of similar funds for ether, another cryptocurrency.

Such regulatory clarity “will give certainty to mainstream users,” Teng said. He attributed bitcoin’s record high earlier this year — above $70,000 in March — to “the effect of institutions coming through.”

He noted how BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has turned from bitcoin skeptic to calling it “digital gold.”

The company and other traditional Wall Street investment firms such as Franklin Templeton have also issued ETFs for bitcoin and ether.

Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson told CNBC in May that bitcoin gains at the time were due to “the first wave of the early adopters.” She said she expects another wave of “much bigger institutions” to buy crypto funds.

Bitcoin was trading near $60,440 as of Wednesday afternoon Singapore time.

Teng declined to share a specific price forecast, but noted how cryptocurrency prices tend to “warm up” 160 days after bitcoin goes through a technical event known as “halving.” The last such event was in April.

As of Wednesday, Teng pointed out the market was “nine days away from that 160 days.”

— CNBC’s Ryan Browne, MacKenzie Sigalos and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.

Finance

Insiders at UnitedHealth are scooping up tarnished shares

Published

1 day ago

May 16, 2025

Business Finance News

Key Points

UnitedHealth Group saw some of its insiders step in and purchase declining shares this week.
Kristen Gil, a director at the firm, bought 3,700 shares worth roughly $1 million on Thursday.
Shares of UnitedHealth plunged nearly 11% to $274.35 on Thursday following a report in The Wall Street Journal that the Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation into possible Medicare fraud.

Finance

Federal Reserve will reduce staff by 10% in coming years, Powell memo says

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2025

Business Finance News

U.S. Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, on January 30, 2024.

Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty Images

The Federal Reserve will look to reduce its headcount by 10% over the next couple of years, including offering deferred resignation to some older employees, central bank chair Jerome Powell said in a memo.

“Experience here and elsewhere shows that it is healthy for any organization to periodically take a fresh look at its staffing and resources. The Fed has done that from time to time as our work, priorities, or external environment have changed,” Powell said in a memo obtained by CNBC.

The central bank chief added that he has instructed leaders throughout the Fed “to find incremental ways to consolidate functions where appropriate, modernize some business practices, and ensure that we are right-sized and able to meet our statutory mission.” One method for shrinking the staff will be to offer a voluntary deferred resignation program to employees of the Federal Reserve Board who would be fully eligible to retire at the end of 2027.

The central bank said in its 2023 annual report that it had just under 24,000 employees. A 10% reduction would bring that number below 22,000.

The memo comes as the Trump administration has pushed for cost cuts across civil service agencies, spearheaded by Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Musk has previously called the Fed “absurdly overstaffed.” Powell’s memo did not mention Musk or DOGE as a factor in the decision to shrink headcount.

The planned staff cuts were first reported by Bloomberg News.

— CNBC’s Matt Cuddy contributed reporting.