Brian Brooks, the CEO of the US arm of global cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced his departure from the company. This happened on Friday, June 6, 2021, Brooks made the announcement just 3 months after taking the position. We will discuss why he resigned, as well as what is happening with the Binance exchange, below.
Differences in the direction of development of Binance.US
Brian Brooks announced his departure from Binance.US in the following post, which was published on the Twitter platform: “Despite the differences in the company’s growth strategy, I wish my former colleagues every success. Exciting developments are coming!”. The founder of the exchange, Changpeng Zhao, responded to the post with the following words: “Brian’s work for Binance.US has been invaluable and we hope he continues to be an integral part of the crypto industry’s growth, advocating for regulations that will benefit the industry as a whole.”
For the time being, Brooks has declined to comment further on his resignation from the position. What is known, however, is that he left during a rather tumultuous time for the company. Here’s why.
What is the Binance exchange?
When we think of cryptocurrency trading, the first name that probably comes to mind is Binance. This is because it is a global cryptocurrency exchange, known mainly for its high liquidity and low fees that are charged on transactions. It currently offers about 500 cryptocurrencies and more than 1200 currency pairs. Despite its high popularity, the Binance exchange has regulatory issues in some countries.
The countries that are expressing their doubts about Binance’s operation are Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In the UK, the financial regulator has halted all activities of the company, while in Germany, a fine is imposed for offering tokens linked to shares. The Japanese authority, on the other hand, expresses its disapproval outright, claiming that Binance is operating illegally there. The government’s doubts are argued by the fact that the ease of conducting transactions on the Binance exchange may encourage crimes such as money laundering, for example.
Situation of Binance in the United States
The United States have also started to take a closer look at the activities of Binance. Currently the situation of the exchange is being investigated by the Department of Justice and the relevant tax authorities, while a separate version of the platform is available for Americans – Binance.US. It is in fact a limited version of its original site, and due to the struggle with American regulations, currently on Binance.US you can trade only 53 cryptocurrencies (including stablecoins).
