Brian Brooks announced on X on August 6, 2021, that he had resigned as chief executive of Binance.US1. He had held the job for four months, CoinDesk reported the same day2. “Despite differences over strategic direction, I wish my former colleagues much success. Exciting new things to come!” Brooks wrote.
Four of Binance's 17 leadership moves on the record came in 2021
Leadership moves CryptoLately has verified at Binance, by year
- 2021: 4
- 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 8 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 | 1 |
Five CEO exits on the record in 2021
CEO exits CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2021: 5
- 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 18 |
| 2023 | 11 |
| 2024 | 20 |
| 2025 | 20 |
The move
Brooks told CoinDesk by email that the account was genuinely his2. He had run a federal bank regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, under President Donald Trump, CoinDesk reported. The outlet wrote that his hiring “appeared to have been part of a strategy by Binance.US and its parent to improve their standings by hiring well-regarded former regulators”.
Binance's global chief executive, Changpeng Zhao, responded with a statement of his own. “Brian's work for Binance.US has been invaluable and we hope he will continue to be an integral part of the crypto industry's growth, advocating for regulations that move our industry forward,” Zhao said2. He added that Brooks' departure would leave Binance.US customers unaffected "in any way," according to CoinDesk. Both men kept the specific disagreement to themselves. CoinDesk's report named only the departure. The permanent successor question stayed open.
Binance.US before and after
Brooks had replaced Binance.US's first chief executive, Catherine Coley2. Coley had held the role from the exchange's founding until around May 2021, CoinDesk reported. The outlet observed that Binance.US had skipped any mention of Coley when it announced Brooks' hiring in April 2021. CoinDesk also reported that the director of Binance Brazil had left in July 2021, after only six months. Regulators in the United Kingdom and Japan had taken action against Binance in recent months, the outlet added.
What came next
Binance.US replaced Brooks within 11 days. Blockworks reported on August 17, 2021, eleven days after Brooks quit, that the firm's finance chief, Joshua Sroge, took over as interim CEO3. Sroge had worked at Binance.US since January 2020, Blockworks reported. The outlet described the pattern Sroge stepped into. Prior Binance.US chief executives had each “held the job briefly before disappearing silently or publicly announcing their intention to quit”. Sroge's post was a labeled, temporary fix while the exchange hunted for a permanent CEO, Blockworks reported.
Sources
- Brian Brooks, post on X, August 6, 2021, https://x.com/BrianBrooksUS/status/1423727097323802626
- Nate DiCamillo, "Binance.US CEO Brian Brooks Quits, Cites 'Strategic Differences'," CoinDesk, August 6, 2021, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/08/06/binanceus-ceo-brian-brooks-quits-cites-strategic-differences
- Sam Reynolds, "Binance.US Taps CFO Joshua Sroge as Interim CEO," Blockworks, August 17, 2021, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMigAFBVV95cUxOVW5MM251bWR2aHFwRExyVENsOW9yQWY1dUl4QXZYcG1reDhXTHBFMlFuQ0N6R1NyZy12bk8zSXc2V0pnSkhwNHVqd2RhSVhyQWIyaDRCV0VuYUFvMUZHRnBOajZJbUVKak9CbFBERHRGcGNyTXdLQ29qcHJYUEpQTg?oc=5