Crypto hiring: Binance loses exec trio as regulators circle

Binance has lost three executives as the exchange has continued to fend off a number of regulatory probes worldwide. 

The people parting ways with Binance include General Counsel Hon Ng, as well as Patrick Hillmann, chief strategy officer, plus Steven Christie, who held the title of senior vice president for compliance, Fortune originally reported.

A former Asia Pacific-based legal executive, Eleanor Hughes has since been elevated to Binance’s open general counsel seat. 

Hillmann on Twitter said he was leaving “on good terms” with Binance, and Christie said he was “simply tired” after spending the last six years working on compliance projects for Kraken and Binance.

Binance didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Shakeups at MicroStrategy, Polygon Labs

MicroStrategy lost Chief Revenue Officer Kevin Adkisson this week.

After working for MicroStrategy for nearly seven years in four different sales positions, Adkisson resigned from the role on Wednesday, according to an SEC filing. He’s set to stay on as an adviser.

MicroStrategy CEO and President Phong Le took over Adkisson’s responsibilities.

Separately, Polygon Labs promoted Marc Boiron from chief legal officer to CEO. Boiron has worked at a number of law firms advising companies about blockchain technology. His most recent gig prior: chief legal officer at crypto trading platform dYdX.

Rebecca Rettig will be taking over as chief legal officer. Rettig joined Polygon this January as chief policy officer. She had that same role at Aave before that and had a brief stint as a board member for Silvergate Bank in March 2022.

Also, Ryan Wyatt will be stepping down as president of Polygon at the end of July to serve in an advisory role.

Other notable hires

• ETC Group, a European crypto ETP provider, is ditching its co-CEO model. Tim Bevan will take over as the sole chief executive of the company, and Bradley Duke will become chief strategy officer.
• Hong Kong has recently staffed its Web3 development taskforce it introduced in February. Financial Secretary Paul Chan will chair the group, and Yat Siu of Animoca Brands was appointed to be a member.
• Galaxy Digital CEO Michael Novogratz said at a conference last month that his and other crypto companies are looking to move employees overseas because of the regulatory environment in the US.

---

Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.