Binance.US Pangkas 100 Staff Impact SEC Action

JAKARTA - Binance.US is reportedly experiencing a massive overhaul in its leadership because Brian Shroder, previous chief executive, has resigned from office. Meanwhile, Norman Reed, Chief Legal Officer, will temporarily replace him.

This reshuffle comes at a time when Binance.US has to face a number of obstacles, including cutting nearly 100 staff positions in response to decisive action taken by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This is the second layoff announced by Binance.US this year, which is facing various legal and operational issues.

In June, the US SEC filed charges against Binance Holdings, its CEOs Changpeng Zhao, and Binance.US over allegations of handling improper customer funds, filing investors and regulators, and violating securities regulations. Zhao and the companies have confirmed that these allegations are unfounded.

After SEC legal action, Binance.US customers had difficulty depositing and withdrawing dollars as several banking partners began to end their cooperation with the platform. As a solution, the company must look for alternative methods for Binance.US users to convert dollars into cryptocurrencies.

In March, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also filed charges against Binance and Changpeng Zhao, on charges of "interticipating federal law intentionally." In addition, the US Department of Justice is still investigating Binance, although it has not yet issued concrete accusations.

Binance Market Share.US Decreases

Binance.US has experienced a significant decline in its global market share, down from about 2.39% in April to only about 0.6%, as reported by Jacob Joseph, an analyst at CCData research. The platform's monthly trading volume has also fallen below the level recorded in early 2020.

Commenting on this condition, a Binance.US spokesperson told Bloomberg that the actions taken provided a solid financial basis for more than seven years and allowed them to continue serving customers as crypto exchanges. They also highlight the negative impacts generated by the SEC's efforts in the crypto industry and the real consequences in the work and innovation in America.