Binance Co-CEO: «The Smart Money is Deploying»
Crypto market’s deep downturn has led many to worry about the potential of a prolonged winter but Binance co-CEO Richard Teng sees smart money flowing in, adding that the current risk profile is even more attractive for institutions.
Since peaking in October 2025, cryptocurrency markets have seen $2 trillion in value erased with Bitcoin nosediving to under $70,000. While there are increasing worries that this is the beginning of a prolonged crypto winter, Binance co-CEO Richard Teng remains confident about the outlook.
«I would say that at the macro level, I think people are still uncertain about interest rate movements going forward and there's always the trend of geopolitics. And those weigh on these assets such as crypto,» Teng said during a fireside chat during the web3 summit Consensus Hong Kong 2026. «For those people who have been involved in crypto for a long period of time […] you probably know that crypto does move through cycles.»
Better Risk Profile
While Teng admits that retail demand is muted compared to a year ago, he noted that institutional demand remains strong. Currently, corporate and institutional holdings total around 1.3 million Bitcoin with another 43,000 added in January.
«The corporates' deployment is still strong. The smart money is deploying. On a risk-weighted average, it makes much more sense for institutions to come in [now],» Teng explained. «Every time you see something like that, we are just prepared for the next leg up.»
Real-World Assets
Beyond crypto, Teng notes that progress continues in the tokenization of real-world assets. Traditional financial institutions continue to seek solutions to address efficiency-related issues such as faster settlement of cross-border payments or round-the-clock trading. On the latter, he named precious metal as a specific example, as it trades universally across all time zones.
«So anytime there's a news flow anywhere in the world, it might have impacted those [investments],» he said.
«Not the First Time There's FUD on Us»
Beyond markets, Teng also addressed some of the recent concerns surrounding Binance, including allegations of insolvency and a $19 billion liquidation event on October 10.
On insolvency, Teng underlined that the firm remained healthy with 300 million users and $34 trillion of trading volume in 2025. And on the liquidation event, he stated that it was driven by macro shocks, including China’s decision to impose rare earth restrictions and the US tariff response, adding that the sell-off occurred across exchanges in the industry.
«The crypto industry is FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) and a lot of FUD sometimes are generated by competitors,» Teng added. «By being the largest boy, we have our fair share. It's not the first time there's FUD on us. We have weathered everything, you know. This is really nothing.»
