Mass Resignation of Senior Management at Binance: Is the Cryptocurrency World in for a Major Shake-up?

On July 6th, according to The Block, Patrick Hillman, the Chief Strategy Officer of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, confirmed in a statement that he will be leaving the company.

Earlier, Fortune reported that Han Ng, the General Counsel of Binance, and Steven Christie, the Senior Vice President of Compliance, were also about to leave. Regarding the reasons for the collective departure of Binance executives, Fortune stated that it was a response to recent adjustments made by CZ, the founder of Binance, in relation to the US Department of Justice.

Today (July 7th), CZ tweeted in response to a report by "Fortune" regarding the departure of Binance executives and the reasons provided, stating that they are incorrect. Additionally, CZ mentioned that employee mobility is normal as Binance and personal circumstances evolve. Furthermore, Binance will continue to hire.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao responds to the tweet from "Fortune"; Source: Twitter.

Zhao Changpeng and Fortune both make valid points, making it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood. However, one thing can be confirmed: the collective resignation of executives at Binance is a fact. 

In a company, especially a large one, when an employee resigns, it is a normal occurrence and likely due to personal reasons. However, when there is a collective resignation, it is an abnormal phenomenon that is closely related to the company and may indicate internal issues such as economic concerns, development strategies, or conflicts of interest.

Regarding the recent mass executive resignation event, Binance explained it as normal personnel movement. However, intelligent individuals do not believe this explanation because coincidentally, the executives who resigned were those related to compliance and strategy, rather than technical or operational aspects. 

This clearly indicates an association with policy regulations and oversight, especially considering the ongoing crackdown by regulatory bodies in the United States, primarily the SEC.

In addition, this incident reflects that Binance, with its current capabilities and resources, is evidently unable to resolve this challenging problem. Furthermore, this can also be evidenced by the performance of Binance's platform coin (BNB).

In June 2023, under the pressure of regulatory agencies, with the U.S. SEC at the core, BNB experienced a rapid decline, falling from around $300 to $200, a decrease of approximately 33%. Currently, BNB is exhibiting narrow range oscillation and is very weak, with the possibility of dropping below the low point of $200 in June 2022 at any time.

Price trend of BNB from 2022 to the present; Source: TradingView

Currently, $200 is a crucial level for Binance Coin (BNB), serving as a strong support that has successfully withstood two bearish attempts. However, this also implies that once breached, it would be difficult to reclaim. Therefore, if this level is broken, it is highly advisable to set a stop-loss as there is significant downside potential, possibly leading to a decline towards $100 or even $50.

Of course, if there are no major events such as increased regulatory crackdown or global economic deterioration, the likelihood of that position dropping significantly is low. For Binance, there is a slightly higher possibility of regulatory upgrades. If it doesn't work out, not only will BNB decline, but the entire cryptocurrency market will be hard-pressed to avoid misfortune.