Departures of key executive personnel from Binance are part of the company’s usual turnover of staff, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao tweeted Friday morning Asia time.
“More FUD about some departures. Yes, there is turnover (at every company). But the reasons dreamed up by the “news” are completely wrong,” CZ tweeted. “As markets and the global environment for crypto changes, as our organization evolves, and as personal situations change, there is turnover at every company.”
Earlier, Fortune reported that high-profile personnel in senior leadership positions, including Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Hillmann and Senior Director of Investigations Matthew Price, had left the company because of CZ’s response to an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
For his part, Hillman tweeted that he was leaving the exchange on good terms and it’s “simply time for me to move on to the next challenge”.
Bloomberg also reported that Yibo Ling, Binance’s Chief Business Officer, has left the company, and U.S. staff are being asked to relocate offshore or be laid off.
BNB, Binance’s exchange token, which has been called a security, is down 2.4% on-day.