Binance’s US CEO Quits Citing ‘Differences Over Strategic Direction’

Brian Brooks, the head of U.S. operations for cryptocurrency exchange Binance has quit after only three months in the position, he tweeted.

Greetings #crypto community. Letting you all know that I have resigned as CEO of ⁦⁦⁦@BinanceUS⁩ . Despite differences over strategic direction, I wish my former colleagues much success. Exciting new things to come!

— Brian Brooks (@BrianBrooksUS) August 6, 2021

Brooks brought a sterling resume to the position, having served as the federal government’s acting controller of the currency under President Donald Trump and as chief legal officer at Coinbase. He is leaving Binance as it faces numerous regulatory headaches in other parts of the world.

“The sudden departure comes as Binance’s main global exchange, Binance.com has faced intense scrutiny this year from regulators in the UK, Germany, Japan and Hong Kong, among others, over concerns around lax consumer protection and anti-money laundering practices,” a Financial Times story on Brooks’s exit states.

According to the newspaper, the problems at Binance have led some longstanding financial players to stop doing business with the company.

In the introduction to an interview with Forbes published last week, the magazine stated that Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world.

In the Forbes interview, Brooks said Binance US was in the process of distinguishing itself from the global conglomerate.

“As we work through our first venture financing round we will have additional U.S. board members that will not have connections to Binance.com,” he said. “The point is you might think of us as a franchise; we have licenses to use the mark, we licensed certain technology, we also innovate some technology that’s all our own. And that’s the connection.”

A week ago, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao announced he was stepping down as head of the Cayman Islands-based company.

Read more: Bitcoin Daily: AS Roma, Zytara Labs Team On Soccer NFTs; Binance Founder To Exit

Earlier in July, regulators in Italy prohibited Binance from doing business there, but company officials noted to Reuters that they didn’t operate there in the first place.

See also: Bitcoin Daily: Binance Shut Out Of Italy; PayPal Raises Cryptocurrency Limits

And at the beginning of July, the Wall Street Journal reported, Binance’s online platform froze for about an hour, prompting some users to seek refunds of lost money.

Read more: Binance Users Want Money Back After Glitch Following Crypto Crash