Brian Brooks, former Binance US CEO employed by another crypto firm

TL;DR Breakdown

• Brian Brooks employed as BitFury CEO.
• Brooks short journey with Binance exchange.
• Brooks assures he’d last longer at BitFury than at Binance.

Brian Brooks, former Binance.US CEO and Comptroller of the Currency, has been appointed CEO of BitFury, a Bitcoin mining and crypto company.

On Thursday, Brooks made the announcement in a statement describing his new employer as an established leader in the digital asset industry, renowned for its sustained research and development efforts and best-in-class proprietary technologies.

He would be replacing Valery Vavilov, who will stay on as Bitfury’s “chief vision officer.”

Brian Brooks comes onboard for the crypto unicorn as they prepare to go public in the next 12 months in what would be Europe’s biggest cryptocurrency valuation. The firm is also planning to expand its mining business.

Speculators in the crypto community continue to describe Brooks move as a stepdown, however, in terms of company size and brand awareness in the crypto space considering his office as CEO of Binance US previously.

Brian Brooks and Binance

Brian was appointed Binance US CEO after his time as the Comptroller of the Currency. His appointment was in line with Binance strategy to employ regulatory professionals in key offices to help it end it tackle continued crackdown in the hand of regulators.

As acting Comptroller of the Currency, he presided over the leading regulator for national banks in the U.S. In that role, he pushed out a number of new authorizations for the integration of cryptocurrency in the banking system, including several fintech charters for banking firms.

His appointment with Binance was seen as a sign that Binance was seeking an image of greater transparency through hiring well-regarded regulators to senior roles.

However, after three months in the role, Brooks resigned amid an alleged battle over independence from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Brooks himself did not give his reason for leaving.

Brooks said he was “highly confident” his tenure would last longer at Bitfury, telling the Financial Times he expected to “gel better” with Vavilov than his former employer.