Binance Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillmann and Vice President for Compliance Steven Christie confirmed in tweets on Friday morning in Asia that they are leaving the world’s largest crypto exchange. The confirmations came after Fortune reported multiple Binance senior executives were resigning amid regulatory investigations and lawsuits.
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Fast facts
- Several Binance executives, including general counsel Han Ng, Hillmann and Christie, are quitting the company over Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao’s response to investigations by U.S. regulators, according to the Fortune report that cited unnamed sources.
- Hillmann and Christie later confirmed their resignations on Twitter, without mentioning Binance’s regulatory issues. “My departure is far less sensational than any article might make it out to be,” said Christie in his tweet, citing personal reasons for his departure.
- “It’s true that I am leaving Binance, but I’m doing so on good terms,” said Hillmann in his Tweet. “I’ve been here for two years and it’s simply time for me to move on to the next challenge.“
- CEO Zhao also tweeted: “Yes, there is turnover (at every company). But the reasons dreamed up by the ‘news’ are completely wrong.” He added: “As markets and the global environment for crypto changes, as our organization evolves, and as personal situations change, there is turnover at every company.”
- Claudia Neo, Binance’s public relation for APAC, said the company had nothing further to share on the resignations, but would respond if that changes. She included the Twitter posts by Hillman and Zhao in an email response to questions.
- Binance faces lawsuits from both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission for alleged violations of securities laws. Binance has denied all the charges. The company is also under investigation by regulators in Australia and France.
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