Crypto-exchange Binance hires former U.S. Comptroller of the Currency

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance.US is set to hire Brian Brooks, a former top U.S. banking regulator, joining the race with other cryptocurrency companies to strengthen ties with Washington, the Wall Street Journal first reported.

Brooks, the former acting Comptroller of the Currency under the Trump administration, will join as the new Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. counterpart of the overseas crypto-exchange giant Binance Holdings Ltd on May 1.

“We are at the cusp of mainstream adoption of blockchain technology and digital tokens by individuals, institutions, and governments alike. I am eager to work closely with industry participants and policymakers to develop an enduring regulatory framework that enables Americans to reap the benefits of decentralized finance for generations to come,” Brooks said.

Brooks was the acting head of the Office of Comptroller of Currency (OCC), a unit of the Treasury Department, from May 2020 to January 2021. He was often referred to as “the first fintech Comptroller” and “CryptoComptroller” on media for his friendly approach towards digital currencies.

Under his guidance, the OCC released a statement affirming that banks can use stablecoins for payment activities and provide cryptocurrency custody services.

Before joining as the Comptroller, he was the Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase Global Inc from 2018 to 2020. He also served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Fannie Mae, from 2014 to 2018.

Crypto-exchange companies have recently hired several former government officials as companies like Binance and Coinbase seek mainstream acceptance. These new hires will also help these companies navigate potential pitfalls as the U.S. government is working on a crypto regulation framework.

In March, Coinbase hired a former SEC regulator, Brett Redfearn, as the vice president. In the same month, Binance hired a former Democratic senator from Montana and U.S. ambassador to China, Max Baucus, as a policy and government-relations adviser.

This month, Coinbase joined Square, Paradigm, and Fidelity to form the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI) to lobby policymakers on crypto regulation.

Binance was founded in 2017 in China and currently is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. It launched its U.S. counterpart in 2019 in San Fransisco as a separate company from the overseas Binance. Both were founded by Changpeng Zhao, who is CEO of Binance and a board member of Binance.US.

In the first quarter of 2021, the company said Binance.US grew its registered users four times and its daily trading volume to $1.4 billion. It has traded over $65 billion of digital assets across retail and institutional clients.

Picture Credit: Coindesk