The head of Binance.US, the US offshoot of the largest crypto exchange Binance, has left the digital assets giant as the company is reportedly cutting its workforce by one-third.
The crypto exchange is planning to eliminate 100 positions, a company spokesperson said in a statement.
The decision comes as the exchange is grappling with a series of challenges in recent months, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit. The regulator, in June, accused the parent company Binance and its head Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, over 13 charges, including mishandling customer funds and securities law violations.
“The actions we are taking today provide Binance.US with more than seven years of financial runway and enable us to continue to serve our customers while we operate as a crypto-only exchange,” the company representative noted.
“The SEC’s aggressive attempts to cripple our industry and the resulting impacts on our business have real world consequences for American jobs and innovation, and this is an unfortunate example of that.”
Binance.US CEO Steps Down
Brian Shroder, who has been leading the American arm of Binance, has left the crypto trading platform, the spokesperson added. His position will be replaced on an interim basis by chief legal officer Norman Reed.
Shroder joined Binance.US in 2021 as president and CEO, overseeing the company’s strategy and execution, fundraising, business and corporate development. He also managed the firm’s Legal, HR, and Product & Technology functions. Prior to his leadership at Binance, Shroder held senior executive positions at Ant Group and Uber.
Shroder, a Harvard B-School graduate, is also an angel investor and startup advisor.
Job Cuts on the Rise
Binance has been facing a mass exodus of executives and staff in recent months. The company apparently witnessed over 10 executives from various departments, resigning in 2023 alone.
Helen Hai, executive vice president of Binance, was the latest to leave the company on September 6. On the same day, Gleb Kostarev, head of Eastern Europe and Russia at Binance, announced his departure on Facebook.
Early this month, product lead at Binance Mayur Kamat, left the company, after serving for nearly 2 years. He cited “personal reasons” for leaving the firm and wanted to hand over the position to next-gen leaders seamlessly.
In July, some of the top executives quit Binance on the same day, citing that they were not happy over Zhao’s response to an ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice, as claimed by a Fortune report.
Following this, CZ took to Twitter (X) to clarify to users that such “news are completely wrong” and denied all such reports, labeling them as fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD).
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