Amid the ongoing regulatory feud between Binance and regulators at various locations, the exchange has been facing increasing allegations. Adding to the heat, media reports and channel have claimed that the exchange recently has lost its top executives.
On July 7, Fortune published an article with a typically salacious clickbait headline starting with “Binance plunges into crisis…” The piece was about the resignation of three senior executives from the company.
In a recent tweet, Santiment, an on-chain intelligence firm, has also commented on the topic. Reportedly, following the lawsuits, Binance’s following executives have exited from the exchange- General Counsel, Chief Strategy Officer, Senior Vice President for Compliance and Chief Global Investigations and Intelligence Officer.
Notably, Binance general counsel Hon Ng, chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann, and SVP for compliance Steven Christie told the CEO they are leaving the company this week.
On the other hand, Chief Compliance Officer Noah Perlman confirmed on Twitter that he would be sticking around to help ‘navigate the growing pains’ of the industry. The move comes as a blow to the firm that has been battling with U.S. and global regulators this year. Reportedly, media reports quickly turned this into FUD, stating:
The decision by the executives to quit the company represents a management and strategic crisis for Binance.
It added that the high-profile departures were due to Binance’s ongoing investigation by the US Department of Justice (DoJ). Furthermore, it has been sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for a range of alleged misdemeanors.
To this, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), CEO of Binance objected to the latest onslaught from the media, claiming the company “has been under strain for months.” In a tweet, CZ responded on Friday that the reasons for the departures given by the media were to spread FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).
More FUD about some departures. Yes, there is turnover (at every company). But the reasons dreamed up by the “news” are completely wrong.
Furthermore, he added that Binance has grown from 30 people to 8,000 in just six years. He said it has also been able to protect its customers throughout the past year of crypto industry turmoil.
As markets and the global environment for crypto changes, as our organization evolves, and as personal situations change, there is turnover at every company.
While the exchange has tried to refute the claims of the regulators and stand against them, the troubles have been on a rise. Considering the lawsuits and investigations which is spread across the continents, the exchange has come into serious speculations.
In Europe, the exchange lost its Euro payment partner in Europe and exited several regional markets, including Austria, the Netherlands, Cyprus, and Germany. The exchange also failed to obtain a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in Austria as well as Netherlands where it also subject to a $3 million fine. In France, authorities are investigating Binance for operating illegally and aggravated money-laundering activities whereas the Belgian regulators have passed a cease and desist order.
Simultaneously, the Australian and Brazilian authorities have raised speculation over the exchange for operating illegally. Amidst all these, the leaked chats, delisting of trading pairs, and halting of services have been enough for the customers to worry about their funds.