Binance.US loses top negotiator in SEC lawsuit
Krishna Juvvadi, the Head of Legal, and Sidney Majalya, the Chief Risk Officer, have both departed from Binance.US amid increased regulatory scrutiny and a series of executive changes.
These departures come in the wake of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing a lawsuit against Binance, its founder Changpeng Zhao, and Binance.US earlier this year, accusing them of operating an unlawful trading platform in the U.S. Juvvadi had served as a key point of contact with the SEC.
Furthermore, Binance has been experiencing leadership changes, including the recent departure of CEO Brian Shroder and a reduction in its workforce by more than 100 positions, representing about a third of its employees. Norman Reed, Chief Legal Officer, is temporarily taking his place.
Shroder assumed the position in 2021 after a highly productive role as head of business development and global partnerships at Ant Group. Prior to his time at China’s mega financial services firm, Shroder served as head of strategy and business development at Uber in their Asia Pacific region and was also a principal at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) where he spent six years.
In addition to these recent departures, Binance has seen other executives leave the company, such as its Global Head of Product, Mayur Kamat, earlier this month, and its Chief Strategy Officer, Patrick Hillmann, in July.
Binance.US stated that it considers the lawsuit filed against it to be baseless, and as a result, the exchange is prepared to defend itself in court and challenge all of the unfounded allegations. Binance.US asserts that, based on the available facts, the applicable law, and previous actions by the SEC, the regulator’s complaint lacks justification.
Following the enforcement action, investors have reportedly withdrawn roughly $1.43 billion from Binance and its U.S. affiliate. According to data provided by Nansen, Binance experienced net outflows of $1.34 billion worth of crypto tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. Additionally, its US offshoot, Binance.US, recorded net outflows of $70.8 million.
In August, Binance filed a motion for a court order to protect itself against an inappropriate “fishing expedition” by the U.S. regulators. Binance’s protective order would set limits on the number of employees the SEC can question, excluding key figures like CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, claiming that its senior executives “do not have unique firsthand knowledge about the facts surrounding the security, custody, and transfer of customer assets.”
