Recently, there have been media reports about a number of top executives of Binance leaving the company and the chief executive decided to respond to them.
The CEO said that the reports were nothing more than an attempt to create ‘FUD’, the colloquial acronym used in the industry for fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
The reports
According to the media reports, Steven Christie, the Senior Vice President of Compliance, Patrick Hillmann, the Chief Strategy Officer, and Hon Ng, the General Counsel, left their positions at Binance this week.
The reports said that these people had decided to leave because of how the ongoing investigations against the crypto exchange were being handled by Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao.
The investigations in question are being conducted by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) over the exchange’s alleged attempts to deceive regulatory bodies in the US.
The decision of the executives to quit the company was described in the reports as a strategic and management crisis for the largest crypto exchange at a time when it is facing immense regulatory pressure.
The response
CZ did not respond to the allegations directly but stated that their firm had been fortunate to have some of the planet’s best talent.
He said that there was just FUD about some people leaving. He added that every company has employee turnover, but the ‘news’ was citing the wrong reasons for it.
He also asserted that the reports of the three executives of the company leaving within the same week were ‘false’.
He said that only one executive had left this week and the media just exaggerates things. There were no other comments from Binance other than the comments from the CEO.
More speculation
Some of the Binance executives who were named in the reports also shared their thoughts regarding the speculation.
Christie and Hillmann both took to Twitter to respond to the matter. The latter said that he was leaving the company, but clarified that it was on good terms.
He also added that he still supports and respects the CEO and also thanked him for giving him the opportunity of working for him.
Hillmann also revealed that his wife was on the verge of having their second child, so it was the correct time for him to step down.
Likewise, Christie also confirmed that he was leaving his position, but he stated that the reasons for it were different than what had been reported.
He stated that since 2015, he had been in crypto compliance when he joined Xapo and he had spent the past six years at Binance and Kraken growing and leading their compliance functions.
He added that he had not taken a break and had now gotten tired. Citing family and health reasons, Christie said that he wished to spend more time at home.
Therefore, he stated that the reasons for his departure were not as sensational as they had been made out to be.
Christie said that he was proud of Binance’s Compliance program and had respect for everyone who was dedicated to it.