NEW YORK, June 5 — Richard Teng, Binance’s head of regional markets outside the United States, is seen as the most likely candidate to succeed the cryptocurrency firm’s chief executive officer, Changpeng "CZ” Zhao, according to media reports.

The issue of succession has taken on additional urgency, as the company has come under intense US scrutiny in recent months, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Binance in late May appointed Teng to head its regional markets outside the United States.

In an interview with CoinDesk, Teng sidestepped the idea that he was being groomed to take the reins from the 46-year-old CEO. "To speculate on such things would be premature,” Teng said.

"Both senior leadership and regulators have discussed behind closed doors that Richard Teng is the only leader that could step into CZ’s shoes and both continue building the company in his vision while helping bridge the existing gap between the industry and regulators,” CoinDesk cited a former employee as saying.

Binance did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the reports.

The company has faced several problems over the past few months, with the company and CEO being sued by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in March. The crypto exchange’s founder has also explored ways to reduce his stake in the company.

The exchange also withdrew from Canada in May as the country set tight regulations for crypto asset trading platforms, while Australia canceled the company’s financial services license last month amid a regulatory probe. — Reuters