Binance, the leading global crypto exchange, has been experiencing a decline in market share in the midst of a surging crypto market. According to The Block’s Frank Chaparro, Binance’s market share among exchanges without USD support has dropped from 74% in December last year to 50% this month. This decline coincides with the departure of several key employees from the company, with a total of 16 executives leaving over the past few years.
Key Employee Departures
The departure of Brian Brooks, former CEO of Binance.US and a former regulator, was particularly notable. Brooks unexpectedly left the company in August 2021 after serving just three months as CEO. He later revealed that the reason for his departure was because he was not actually in charge of running the company, but rather Binance’s global CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) held the reins.
Brian Shroder took over as CEO after Brooks’ departure but also left in mid-September amid regulatory concerns surrounding Binance.US. Other executives including Jonathan Farnell, Binance UK Head, Sidney Majalya, chief risk officer, and Seth Levy, a Citadel veteran, have also left the company within a short period of time.
User Nervousness and Regulatory Concerns
Unsurprisingly, these employee departures have raised concerns among Binance users, especially in light of last year’s collapse of FTX. According to Chaparro, a professional crypto options trader highlighted that regulatory actions against Binance have made trading firms reluctant to commit significant capital to the exchange. The trader stated, “It is tough for institutional guys to commit resources given the headline risk. [High frequency trading] guys have outsized volume due to the nature of the trading style.”
As of now, Binance’s “normalized” 24-hour spot trading volume stands at $4.6 billion, while rival exchange OKX boasts $1.3 billion in normalized spot volume, according to CoinGecko data.
