ICYMI: Former OCC lead Brian Brooks leaves Binance.US

Brain Brooks, former acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency under the Trump administration, resigned from his post as CEO of crypto exchange Binance.US, a mere three months into the job.

Why should we care?
In a tweet late last week, Brooks announced his resignation, wishing his colleagues well but acknowledging “differences over strategic direction.” He declined to comment beyond that, but Brooks’ departure is a significant blow for a company under a cloud of concern from multiple regulators. Binance, Binance.US’s parent company, is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume. In June, the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority stated that the company’s U.K. affiliate was not authorized to operate there, and Japan’s Financial Services Agency delivered a similar message. Meanwhile, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission filed criminal charges against the company for operating without a license in July. In the U.S., the Commodity Futures Commission is investigating Binance on whether the platform flouted its regulations by allowing users to trade derivatives. In July, Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s CEO said he is committed to securing regulatory approvals and was willing to resign if it helped move those processes along.