Founder of Binance, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), sought to downplay the significance of the exits of some executives at the crypto exchange, describing news about them as “more FUD” (fear, uncertainty, and doubt). The managers are leaving during an ongoing regulatory crackdown on the major coin trading platform that has affected its market share.
CZ Comments on Executives Leaving Binance Amid Regulatory Crisis
Changpeng Zhao, founder and CEO of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, defended his company in the face of what he called “more FUD about some departures.” In a tweet posted after it became clear that several executives are leaving, CZ highlighted the remarkable growth of the crypto firm in a few years’ time and assured it continues to hire.
4. Another day, another FUD. On rumors of layoffs.
Binance has a “bottom out” (we should probably rename it to something else) program. We constantly say goodbye to people who are not strong fits with the company. Many of them are great people or high performers, but may not fit… https://t.co/YGnZILzd5C
— CZ
Binance (@cz_binance) May 31, 2023
On Thursday, Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillmann confirmed on Twitter that he is exiting Binance “on good terms,” two years after joining the company. Quoting a knowledgeable source, Bloomberg reported that Senior Vice President for Compliance, Steven Christie, and Hon Ng, Binance’s general counsel, have left as well.
Apologies for any typos, but I was not expecting to be tweeting about this today.
It’s true that I am leaving @Binance, but I’m doing so on good terms. I continue to respect and support @cz_binance and am grateful for having had the incredible opportunity to work under his…
— Patrick Hillmann (@PRHillmann) July 6, 2023
The departures come at a time when the exchange finds itself under increased regulatory pressure with investigations and lawsuits against it in the United States, France, Belgium and other jurisdictions, including for breaking securities laws and alleged money laundering violations. Australian authorities reportedly searched Binance Australia locations earlier this week.
In the U.S., Binance is engaged in legal battles with the country’s securities and futures commissions. As a result, the market share of its American subsidiary has declined significantly, to just 1.5%, despite a deal that helped avoid an asset freeze. Binance’s share of non-derivatives trading volume fell for a fourth consecutive month in June, according to Ccdata, dropping 1.4% to 42%.
Almost 600 employees worked for Binance in the United States, Bloomberg noted referring to Linkedin records. In June, a number of them were asked if they would relocate and some of those who declined were dismissed, the report unveils. Chief Business Officer, Yibo Ling, was among them, according to Bloomberg’s unidentified source.
At the end of May, Changpeng Zhao reacted to rumors and reports of mass layoffs at claiming that up to a fifth of the exchange’s workforce might have to leave due to poor market conditions. “Another day, another FUD,” CZ tweeted at the time. On Friday, the crypto entrepreneur pointed out that his organization has grown from 30 to 8,000 people in 6 years, admitting that “there is turnover (at every company).”
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