Binance appears to be going through a significant management crisis following the resignation of key executives amid ongoing regulatory investigations. Among the figures leaving are general counsel Han Ng, chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann and SVP for compliance Steven Christie, according to a recent report by Fortune referring to sources familiar with the matter.
It follows the earlier resignations of Vice President of Marketing and Communications Steve Milton, Senior Director of Investigations Matthew Price, and Chief Business Officer Yibo Ling, who left the company after U.S. staff were asked to relocate offshore.
Binance is currently under investigation by multiple regulators. The U.S. SEC filed a suit against the exchange and its CEO for various alleged securities law violations in June. Two months earlier the CFTC also sued the company. The company is also under investigation in Europe and Australia.
The resignations are mainly from the legal and compliance departments. Reportedly, they were caused by CZ’s response to the ongoing Justice Department investigation.
CZ tried to play down any problems, suggesting that users ignore FUD following his “4-strategy”. According to him these resignations are just a part of the company’s usual turnover of staff and have nothing to do with “the reasons dreamed up by the news”. He also mentioned that the three executives did not all leave in one week and this was merely an exaggeration.
Two of the executives confirmed their departures and support for their former CEO.
CSO Hillmann tweeted that he was leaving the exchange on good terms and even mentioned two reasons for his resignation - his child's birth and the need 'to move on to the next challenge.'
SVP Steven Christie also confirmed his departure citing a desire to build healthier relationships with his wife. The other executives mentioned had not made any comment at the time of writing.
Binance remains the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, but its ongoing legal problems do have consequences. The U.S. branch had to cease trading using U.S. dollars after its banking partners refused to work with the exchange in response to regulators’ actions.
In June the exchange saw its fourth consecutive monthly decline (spot market share dropped to 41.9%) and the lowest level since August 2022 according to CCData. The price of BNB, Binance's native token which was recently labeled as a security by the SEC, has been falling since the regulator filed the lawsuit. After the publication of Fortune’s article, its price dropped by another 2%.
