Binance.US Taps Joshua Sroge to Be Interim CEO

Joshua Sroge has become Binance.US’s interim CEO, replacing Brian Brooks, who resigned unexpectedly earlier this month from the U.S. arm of crypto exchange Binance.

Sroge joined Binance.US in January 2020, serving as its CFO.
Brooks’ exit after just four months and the similarly unexpected departure of the director of Binance Brazil have been among a series of challenges for the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume. Binance has faced intensifying regulatory scrutiny in several countries, including the U.K. and Japan.
According to a report in the New York Times on Thursday, Brooks resigned after a venture capital investment he was trying to complete to diversify the company’s ownership fell through.
The potential investors were concerned that U.S. authorities were investigating Binance over money laundering and tax issues, and also CEO Changpeng Zhao’s concentrated ownership of Binance.US. Zhao owns roughly 90% of Binance.US, according to the Times report.
According to The Times, Sroge said in a statement that the company still intended to grow, including raising outside capital and “expanding its board of directors with experienced leaders, among other initiatives consistent with those pursued by fast-growing private companies.”