How many chief executives have resigned from crypto firms this year
Top crypto firms have lost CEOs this year, despite a declining market and increased regulatory scrutiny. Both Celsius Network's Alex Mashinsky and FTX.US president Brett Harrison resigned. Jesse Powell, CEO of Kraken, stepped down last week; Sam Trabucco, CEO of Alameda Research, stepped down in August; Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy, and Michael Moro, CEO of Genesis.
Celsius - CEO Alex Mashinsky resigned, amid allegations of price manipulation and bankruptcy proceedings at the company. He claimed that his position as CEO had "become an increasing distraction." The UCC recently launched an independent investigation into Celsius's financial activities. This approval came amid claims that Celsius was manipulating the value of its CEL token. Celsius is being sued as well as being sued by one of its former traders, who claims the company is a Ponzi scheme.
FTX - Brett Harrison, the president of the United States, announced on Twitter that he would resign soon, "move into an advisory role," and remain in the industry. FTX.US is Sam Bankman Fried's American subsidiary. The Unsecured Creditor Committee (UCC) announced that it had demanded Mashinsky resign from Celsius before him doing so. In the last month, Sam Bankman-Fried has lost a leader for the second time. A month ago, Crypto curly-haired billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried had to deal with another chief executive exodus.
Kraken - A cryptocurrency exchange, lost its co-founder and CEO last week. The CEO will remain on the board of directors and the company's largest shareholder. The announcement comes at a difficult time for Kraken, as the US Treasury is currently investigating the company for possibly violating Iranian sanctions. Kraken, on the other hand, is planning to go public this year. Powell stated that the company is still "positioning itself" for a stock market debut when he announced his resignation.
Genesis - Michael Moro announced his departure from cryptocurrency brokerage Genesis on August 17. The firm suffered greatly when Three Arrows Capital declared bankruptcy earlier this year. Genesis also announced layoffs, laying off over 50 employees, or 20% of its workforce. Since 2013, when he launched the first OTC Bitcoin trading desk, sophisticated investors have come to Genesis for liquidity, lending, and custody services for their digital assets.
MicroStrategy - Michael Saylor, the CEO of MicroStrategy, announced his resignation two weeks ago. Saylor announced his intention to become executive chairman during a disappointing Q2 earnings call to focus on "bitcoin advocacy and evangelism." Phong Le, president of Microstrategy, took over as CEO. As executive chairman, he will focus more on bitcoin acquisition strategy and related bitcoin advocacy initiatives, while Phong will be given the authority to manage overall corporate operations.