Brian Brooks, formerly a leading US banking regulator, joined the US branch of cryptocurrency exchange Binance in April. However, he went to Twitter at the end of August 6 to announce that he would be leaving the role.
No repercussions for users
"I let everyone know that I have resigned as CEO of Binance US," his tweet said. “Despite the differences in strategic direction, I wish my former colleagues much success. New exciting news is coming! "
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder and CEO of Binance, who is also chairman of the board of directors of Binance.US, has released an official statement regarding his resignation. In the statement, he told users of the exchange that the transition would have no impact on them.
CZ followed up on this with another statement from his Twitter account, where he called Brooks' work with Binance.US "invaluable".
“We hope it continues to be an integral part of the growth of the cryptocurrency industry, supporting regulations that advance our industry. We wish him the best for his future endeavors ”.
Brooks' departure comes just three weeks after that of another top-tier Binance employer; namely, the director of the Brazilian arm of the exchange Ricardo Da Ros. Like Brooks, Da Ros had only held his role for a few months before his resignation in mid-July. The executive said on his LinkedIn profile that he was leaving the company due to "a mismatch in expectations."
Binance's recent problems
The resignations of Brooks and Da Ros have come amid the growing scrutiny Binance has faced in recent weeks. Regulators from numerous countries including Japan, the UK, Hong Kong, Italy and Lithuania have moved against the platform. In some cases, they just issued warnings; in others, they have imposed restrictions.
More recently, Binance has severed some ties with its international users. Reports revealed that the exchange had limited its offering of derivative products in Hong Kong. As of their announcement on August 6, Binance users in Hong Kong have no longer been able to open new accounts for derivatives.
This move follows similar closures in Europe that the exchange imposed in late July. A few days earlier, reports stated that Binance had stopped trading on margin with the Australian dollar, the euro and the pound.
However, while it burned bridges in some places, Binance was building them in others. On August 5, it was announced that it had partnered with crypto-backed payment service provider Alchemy Pay to bring Binance Pay to more and more international traders. This announcement came shortly after the revelation that the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia would be auctioning off rare art such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in partnership with Binance.
