Former Binance.US CEO Brian Brooks Joins Hashdex
- Brian Brooks served as the former CEO of Binance.US and Coinbase’s chief legal officer.
- A recent filing by the SEC revealed that Brooks left his role at Binance.US due to Changpeng Zhao’s continued influence at the exchange.
Brian Brooks has made a remarkable return to the crypto industry, joining the board of Hashdex, an asset manager that focuses on cryptocurrency. This comes almost two years after the former acting comptroller of the currency for the United States government left his role at Binance.US CEO citing differences over strategic direction. He spent only four months at the exchange before calling it quits.
Brooks replaced Catherine Coley as CEO of Binance.US in 2021. However, his short stay at the exchange raised concerns over Binance’s operations. Interestingly, the SEC’s filing in June claimed Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao denied Brooks the authority to oversee the U.S. exchange.
Brooks also served as Coinbase’s chief legal officer from 2018 to 2020 and as the CEO of Bitfury from October 2021 to December 2022. Hashdex hopes to rely on Book’s vast experience in “financial regulation and the crypto industry” as a member of its board.
Reacting to his appointment at Hashdex, Brooks said,
Crypto assets are changing the economics of nearly every industry across the globe, allowing individuals to have an ownership stake in the networks in which they participate. I look forward to helping Hashdex deliver on their vision of bridging the divide between traditional financial markets and the crypto economy.”
Brooks currently works as a managing partner at Valor Capital Group, a venture capital group that has previously funded crypto businesses through several investment rounds. Brooks will support Hashdex with strategic counsel to “accelerate Hashdex’s continued growth in global markets.”
Hashdex co-founder Marcelo Sampaio remarked that Brook’s “proven ability to push forward a thoughtful, innovation-driven public is much needed at this time.” Sampaio added that Brian’s “extensive experience as a leader in financial regulation and the crypto industry will help Hashdex meet our core mission of giving investors simple and secure access to the developing crypto ecosystem.”
Hashdex will hope that Brook’s experience will further expand its influence in the crypto market amidst the changing regulatory climate.
I have covered some exciting stories in my career as a journalist and find blockchain-related stories very intriguing. I believe Web3 will change the world and want everyone to be a part of it.
