Media reports the departures of two top Binance.US executives

The heads of Binance.US’s legal department, Krishna Juvvadi, and the head of risk, Sidney Majalya, have left the company. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported this.

Juvvadi joined the U.S. unit of the exchange in May 2022 from Uber. According to the publication, he “was one of the contacts [Binance.US] with the SEC.” Majalya led the risk division a year earlier; prior to that he worked at Intel.

Earlier Bloomberg reported the departure of Binance.US’s chief executive Brian Schrader, coinciding with mass layoffs. According to the press, the exchange had laid off about a third of its staff, or around 100 people.

On June 5 the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao. The commission levelled 13 charges, including the sale of unregistered securities. On June 6 the regulator filed a motion to freeze the digital assets of the exchange’s U.S. subsidiary.

On June 9 platform users lost the ability to deposit dollars, triggering selling by those wishing to withdraw funds in fiat. Against this backdrop, on the platform a discount formed in the BTC/USD quotes — the indicator reached around $2,200 (7.3%).

On June 17 the SEC and Binance entered into a settlement over customer funds in the United States. The platform resumed withdrawals of assets, but the company warned that the situation could change.

In July, journalists reported the departure of several Binance top executives, including strategy chief Patrick Hillmann. It was also announced about mass layoffs; Zhao’s earlier statements were described as FUD.

In early September, Binance announced the departures of the director for Eastern Europe, Gleb Kostarev, and the director for the CIS, Vladimir Smerkis. Both were responsible for guiding the company’s business in Russia.

According to an internal presentation, growth opportunities for Binance.US are limited due to business ties with Zhao and the current regulatory environment.