Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has laid off some of its US-based employees, according to information reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The firm's general counsel, chief strategy officer, head of investigations, and senior vice president of compliance had recently come to the fore in recent weeks.
CEO Changpeng Zhao only reported that Patrick Hillmann had resigned. “As the global landscape for markets and crypto changes, as our organization evolves, and personal situations change, change happens in every company,” he said in a post on Twitter.
Additionally, Binance laid off a large number of employees last week, according to the WSJ. Some employees were not given any reason, while others were told they had become redundant. The exchange has a plan to reduce US-based staff.
Binance has been negotiating with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Justice Department staff for months in hopes of a compromise. But in June, the SEC sued Zhao, Binance and the US exchange, alleging that Binance operated an illegal trading platform in the US and misused customers' funds.
Of Binance.com's 8,000-strong global staff, approximately 150 were employed in the United States. Its global staff does not include the staff of Binance's American exchange (US). Binance.US also recently laid off staff: around 50 people, or 10% of its workforce.
*Not investment advice.