Binance’s top executives resigned this week following CEO Changpeng Zhao’s handling of the investigations by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), according to a report first published by Fortune.
Among the notable exits are general counsel Han Hg, chief strategy officer Patrick Hilmann, and SVP for Compliance Steven Christie. The aforementioned top executives told Zhao this week of their intention to discontinue servicing the leading crypto firm a few months after former IRS agent Matthew Price, who was hired in 2021, also quit.
Again, Binance sees a massive low amidst months of intense internal and external stress. The leading exchange has been at the forefront of a fierce regulatory crackdown by regulators globally, of which the handling of one of the cases led to the recent internal outburst.
The Trying Days Continue
As people familiar with the issue reported, the executives decided to leave the company following Zhao’s alleged poor response to the US DOJ investigation. The investigation, which has gone on for some months now, has seen Binance and its US subsidiary Binance.US accused of allegedly laundering customer funds.
Binance has also faced a regulatory crackdown in other countries outside the US; Australian regulators are investigating the largest exchange in the world over alleged guidelines violations. Binance had its German license application rejected and also pulled out of Canada over regulatory concerns.
CZ Brands News as FUD
In a tweet earlier Friday, Binance’s CZ responded to the departure news, branding the “reasons dreamed up by the news” as FUD. He confirmed that there were departures but noted that they were for reasons far from what the media reported.
“As markets and the global environment for crypto changes, as our organization evolves, and as personal situations change, there is turnover at every company. We thank all our ex-team members for their contributions to our growth and wish them all the best,” CZ tweeted.
