By Shelly Melancon (Switzerland)
Leading crypto exchange, Binance may not be free from the travails it has faced in the past few weeks. The exchange scores another loss, as the head of its U.S subsidiary takes a bow out of office. Brian Brooks formerly assumed a leading position at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) until his resignation in January. Following that, he joined Binance as the CEO in May.
Brooks led affairs at Binance.US from May till date, after his predecessor, Catherine Coley also took a bow unexpectedly. Coley’s exit had come as a surprise as she didn’t issue an official statement like in Brooks’ case. Moreover, her social media presence reduced drastically. Brooks announced his exit from Binance.US via a tweet in which stated ‘differences in strategic direction’ informed his decision.
Binance Global CEO, CZ Assures Users of Stable Operations, Bids Brooks Farewell
Binance Global’s CEO, Chanpeng Zhao followed up with a rejoinder tweet where strongly reassured users of the exchange’s continuity. Fondly called CZ, the CEO noted that Brook’s exit will not affect the exchange’s operations in the US by any means. He thanked Brooks for his short and eventful time as the CEO, while wishing him ‘the best in his future endeavours.’
Brooks’ quiet exit from Binance.US stands in sharp contrast to the controversy that resulted in his resignation as the acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of Currency in January. While Brooks was still at the OCC, he made active efforts to regulate crypto assets. However, his attempts were met with stiff resistance from some members of the US Congress as well as the American Bankers Institution. The latter two had claimed that Brooks was focusing unnecessary attention on the regulation of cryptocurrencies .
During his OCC stint, Brooks ensured that banks and crypto exchanges developed a friendly relationship such that the former began to offer custodial services to businesses in the crypto sector. He also allowed banking institutions in the country to carry out stablecoins’ settlements via crypto exchanges. In contrast, some stakeholders reasoned that the COVID stimulus program bore more importance.
Before arriving at the OCC, Brooks assumed a Chief Legal Officer (CLO) position at US-based exchange, Coinbase. It was after he left Coinbase in 2020 that he became the acting head of the OCC before resigning in January. It is not difficult to attribute his exit from the OCC to the bouts of criticism he faced from Congress members. For the Coinbase and Binance exits, the reasons are not clear.
Binance Promises Cooperation with Regulatory Bodies
Binance exchange has managed to keep its head above the rising regulatory waters it found itself in back in July. The exchange was a pig-in-the-middle for regulatory bodies in different jurisdictions until it assumed a new stance on compliance at a press conference earlier in August. There, Binance declared that it had begun obtaining operating licenses, especially in new markets like EMEA and APAC.
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