In the words of a spokesperson for Binance.US, “The SEC’s aggressive attempts to cripple our industry and the resulting impacts on our business have real world consequences for American jobs and innovation, and this [layoff] is an unfortunate example of that.”
Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder has left the exchange while its regulatory troubles show no sign of letting up. Norman Reed, the Chief Legal Officer of Binance.US, will succeed Shroder as the interim CEO.
Binance.US has also slashed over 100 employees as part of its second layoff this year. Accusing the SEC of stifling the crypto industry, the spokesperson noted that the termination of over 33% of its workforce will allow the crypto-only exchange to continue serving its clients. They added,
“The actions we are taking today provide Binance.US with more than seven years of financial runway and enable us to continue to serve our customers while we operate as a crypto-only exchange.”
The US arm of Binance has been under a lot of regulatory pressure since the SEC filed a lawsuit against its parent company and many high-ranking officials, including CEO Changpeng Zhao.
Subsequently, the SEC sought to freeze all assets on Binance.US, though Binance was able to reach an agreement with the regulator, allowing the exchange to continue serving its clients. Around the same time, Binance.US halted USD deposits and made the first round of layoffs to prepare for a costly litigation battle against the SEC.
By August, Binance.US had transitioned to a fully crypto-only exchange while adding support for clients to fund their Tether (USDT) balances using the USD on-ramp services offered by MoonPay.