Binance.US CEO Steps Down, Crypto Exchange To Cut One-third Of Workforce

Brian Shroder, the Chief Executive Officer of Binance.US, has left the crypto trading platform. According to the company spokesperson, chief legal officer Norman Reed will serve as his interim replacement.

Besides this departure, Binance.US is slashing one-third of its workforce — or 100 positions. The move comes as the company faces difficulties, including a lawsuit from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in recent months.

The company said:

“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.”

Crypto Exchange Saw Substantial Workforce Reduction

Binance has been experiencing a major exodus of employees and executives in recent months. More than 10 executives from various departments resigned this year. 

Executive vice president of Binance, Helen Hai, was the latest to leave the company on Sept. 6. After nearly two years of service, Mayur Kamat, Binance’s product lead, left the business earlier this month. He cited “personal reasons” for leaving the exchange.

Moreover, some of the top executives left Binance in July. They indicated they were unhappy with Zhao’s response to the Justice Department’s investigation, as per Fortune’s report. After that, CZ turned to Twitter (X) and said the “news are completely wrong.”

4. More FUD about some departures. Yes, there is turnover (at every company). But the reasons dreamed up by the “news” are completely wrong.

As an organization that has grown from 30 to 8000 people in 6 years, from 0 to the world’s largest crypto exchange in less than 5 months…

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) July 6, 2023

The latest announcement has fueled speculation in the cryptocurrency market. Many market observers suggested that these departures signal the gradual closure of the operations of Binance.US. 

Furthermore, the firm’s native token, BNB, has seen a roughly 8.7% drop in price over the past 30 days. At the time of writing, it is priced at $211.

Lawsuit Affected Operations Of Binance.US

In June, the SEC sued Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao. The agency filed 13 charges against them, including violating securities laws and misappropriating consumer funds. Legal battles have affected the company’s operations. On June 9, Binance.US suspended US dollar deposits and halted fiat withdrawals for its customers, signaling an ongoing conflict with the SEC.

For two tumultuous months, the company rebranded itself as a cryptocurrency-based exchange. In August, they re-introduced USD transactions by partnering with MoonPay. 

The spokesperson said the SEC’s aggressive efforts to weaken our industry have tangible repercussions. These actions are affecting the company’s business and, in turn, American jobs and innovation.

A Reuters report, citing data from Kaiko, shows a bleak picture for the Binance.US market. The staggering drop, going from a substantial 22% market share in April to a mere 0.9% by June 26, highlights the extent of its setbacks.