Binance CSO: AI for security, oil contracts and withdrawal freeze

At Consensus 2026 in Miami Beach, Binance Chief Security Officer Jimmy Su discussed the exchange’s new products and security measures, and warned that attackers are using AI to speed up exploits.

Su pointed to recent U.S. Senate activity on the Clarity Act as part of a broader trend toward clearer rules that are encouraging banks and traditional financial firms to offer crypto services. He said adoption, not short-term price swings, is the defining trend for the industry over the next five to ten years.

On the product side, Binance has added contracts that let users trade oil prices and is developing tokenized stocks and commodity tokens. Su said these tradfi-style offerings are intended to attract more traders and expand the exchange’s addressable market, while increasing competition with conventional brokers.

Security took up a large part of Su’s remarks. He warned that AI has lowered the barrier for attackers to find and exploit vulnerabilities. “What used to be needing a team of five or six red teamers to find vulnerability, now can be done with one person from my AI tool over a span of a weekend,” Su said, adding that the time between discovering an exploit and launching an attack has shortened.

To counter those threats, Binance is integrating AI across its security operations center. Su described defensive AI as a partner to analysts, able to synthesize signals from logs, email, networks and endpoints to detect attack patterns earlier than humans. He explained that the system can reduce friction for trusted users while stepping up authentication for high-risk behavior, using stronger checks such as two-factor authentication or biometrics when needed.

Su identified two specific threat vectors. He said search engine ad results have been poisoned with malicious links that distribute AI tools containing malware; users who install those tools can expose private keys or account credentials. He also described physical coercion or “wrench” attacks, where owners are forced to surrender wallet access. To address irreversible transfers, Binance introduced Withdrawal Protection, a user-controlled feature that lets customers set a freeze period on withdrawals to allow time to recover accounts if credentials are compromised.

Su also described how AI is changing software development and vulnerability testing. He said cloud-based coding tools are speeding code writing and testing and that AI can trace an attack chain from discovery to exploitation, functioning as an automated red-team partner that helps find and patch vulnerabilities more quickly.

Binance’s product expansions and security upgrades arrived as institutional interest in crypto grows and regulators consider frameworks to bring banks and funds into the market.