Binance.US Gets New President After CEO Brooks’s Resignation

(Bloomberg) -- Crypto exchange Binance.US, whose chief executive officer recently resigned, just appointed a new president.

Brian Shroder, who was previously an executive at Ant Group Co. and Uber Technologies Inc., will oversee the crypto exchange’s strategy, execution, fundraising, business and corporate development, and manage its legal, human resources and product and technology functions, the company said in a statement. Brian Brooks, who had been CEO, resigned recently just months into his tenure amid a slew of compliance setbacks and regulatory scrutiny tied to the crypto exchange’s sister company.

Shroder said in a statement he is looking “forward to sharing our exciting story with the broader investment community as we begin our journey toward IPO.”

The U.S. firm shares a name with Binance Holdings Ltd., the world’s biggest crypto exchange -- and Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance Holdings, is chairman of the board at Binance.US. Binance Holdings faces a U.S. Justice Department investigation into whether its platform has facilitated money laundering and tax evasion. Numerous countries have also announced probes and demanded that Binance curtail or amend operations within their borders. 

Zhao recently said that Binance.US is expecting to close a funding round shortly. He reiterated that the U.S. business, which was launched in 2019, is planning an eventual public offering. 

“Based on our current trajectory, I believe we could have an extremely successful IPO in the next two to three years,” Shroder said in response to a question from Bloomberg News. Binance.US would look to close its ‘first seed round by the end of the year,” he said.  

At Ant Group, Shroder was head for business development, global partnerships. He also oversaw Ant Group’s South East Asia operations. Prior to Ant Group, Shroder served for several years as head of strategy and business development for Uber in the Asia-Pacific region.

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