Crypto community shocked by Brian Brooks’ resignation from Binance.US

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After serving as managing director of major cryptocurrency exchange Binance.US for less than four months, Brian Brooks announced on Friday that he would be stepping down – a move that was greeted with confusion and suspicion by the crypto community.

Citing “differences on strategic direction”, the former CEO noted he had already resigned from his post in the US branch of Binance. Brooks had been running the crypto exchange since replacing former CEO Catherine Coley on May 1.

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance – an entity separate from its US branch – said Brooks’ resignation would “have no impact on customers of Binance.US.” He explained:

“I remain confident in Binance.US ‘business and its commitment to serving customers and innovating. […] As one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States, Binance.US is poised to continue to grow and strengthen the future of finance.

However, members of the crypto community speculated that Brooks’ decision to leave the company was based on inside knowledge about the issues surrounding Binance’s global stock exchange, possibly from regulators or other market forces.

Others bound the timing of its departure in the face of regulatory backlash facing Binance, which has prompted the stock market to retreat or even cease operations in some regions. Regulators in Japan, UK, Germany and Canada have recently issued orders or warnings against Binance for various reasons.

Binance has come under scrutiny even in the United States, with the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service investigating the company for suspected illegal business activity. The exchange is said to be the subject of a Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigation into suspected transactions by US clients.

Related: Binance faces regulatory upheaval as lawmakers target ‘global’ exchanges

Others speculated that Brooks’ departure may have been linked to his belief that the crypto exchange business is not profitable in the long run. These comments were made in an interview with Forbes a few weeks before his resignation.

The takeaway from this interview, according to for Forbes writer Javier Paz, was the “inevitable leadership clash” at Binance.US, likely between Brooks and the board. According to a Twitter user, “It must be terrible to work against your moral compass.”

Some users recalled that Brooks’ desire to pursue a “strong compliance program” had the full support of the board of directors just a few months ago:

the general atmosphere on Crypto Twitter was that the resignation was “very strange”, especially given all the excitement surrounding the hiring of Brooks a few months earlier.

As of this writing, Brooks has yet to reveal his career plans. Prior to joining Binance.US, he held several senior positions at Coinbase and the Office of the Comptroller of the United States.

Related: Binance to Restrict Derivatives Trading for Hong Kong Users

With additional reports from Turner Wright.