SEC reveals reasons behind Binance US CEO resignation

The SEC's recent allegations against Binance might shed light on the sudden departure of Binance US's ex-CEO Brian Brooks in August 2021, only three months after assuming his role. 

A tweet on June 5 by James Murphy, a well-known crypto lawyer on Twitter as MetaLawMan, suggests that the SEC lawsuit mentions an "unidentified source" who briefly managed Binance US in 2021, timing that aligns with Brooks's tenure. 

Brooks, a previous high-ranking banking official, took over as CEO of the crypto platform on May 1, 2021, from Catherine Coley. However, he reportedly felt that he wasn't truly in control, leading to his resignation announcement on August 7.

Patrick Hillman, Binance's Chief Communications Officer, has challenged Murphy's conjecture, suggesting it could be one person's interpretation and might not withstand scrutiny.

This revelation follows the SEC filing 13 charges against Binance for purportedly operating as an unregistered securities exchange in the U.S., causing turmoil in crypto prices, including a 5.6% and 4.3% decrease in Bitcoin and Ether respectively.

U.S.-based publicly listed crypto firms also saw a significant drop in their share prices, with Coinbase (COIN) falling 9% on June 5.

Mark Palmer, senior equity research analyst at Berenberg Capital, noted the SEC lawsuit's parallels with previous charges against U.S.-based crypto exchanges Bittrex and Kraken. Palmer suggests that Coinbase might be the SEC's next target and advises investors to examine if the exchange can adapt its business model and geographic concentration if SEC enforcement necessitates significant changes in its U.S. operations. It's estimated that about 37% of Coinbase's net revenue could be endangered if the SEC targets its crypto token trading and staking operations.