Another Executive Exits Binance Amid Regulatory Scrutiny
Mayur Kamat, head of product at Binance, is leaving the crypto exchange which has seen several executive exits in recent months. His and the other departures coincide with an ongoing regulatory clampdown on crypto business that has placed the leading trading platform for digital assets under increased scrutiny in some jurisdictions.
Crypto Exchange Binance’s Global Head of Product Resigns
Product Lead for Binance, Mayur Kamat, has resigned, according to a spokesperson for the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange quoted by Reuters on Monday. The news follows other executive exits and job cuts at the company in the past few months.
In early July, the crypto giant’s Chief Strategy Officer, Patrick Hillmann, confirmed on social media he was leaving Binance while a report by Bloomberg revealed that Senior Vice President for Compliance, Steven Christie, and Binance’s General Counsel, Hon Ng, had also left.
Later that month, the Wall Street Journal published an article claiming that Binance had laid off more than 1,000 employees as well. A source familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters that the crypto firm had been cutting jobs.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) sought to downplay the significance of the changes in his company’s workforce, calling news about them FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt), dismissing the reported numbers as “way off” and insisting the exchange was still hiring.
The executive exodus and the job cuts have come amid heightened regulatory scrutiny over Binance’s operations in the United States, where it has been drawn into legal battles with the securities and futures commissions, and in Europe, where it’s facing probes and has pulled out of some markets.
Binance is also reportedly under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for suspected violations of Western sanctions against Russia. The exchange recently removed sanctioned Russian banks from the payment options on its peer-to-peer (P2P) platform and may leave the once important market, according to media.
Despite the regulatory challenges, has grown its user base to 150 million, adding 30 million registered users in the past year. The exchange recently restored full services in Japan, on a locally regulated platform, and found a way to continue to serve traders in Belgium where it had been ordered to cease crypto services.
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