Brian Brooks Lands as CEO at Mining Manufacturer Bitfury
Brooks takes over from founder Valery Vavilov as firm prepares for new funding round.
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key takeaways
- Brian Brooks resigned as CEO of Binance.US in August, and was previously the US Acting Comptroller of the Currency
- Bitfury raised $80 million at a valuation of $1 billion back in 2018, and is said to be pursuing an IPO
Former Binance.US CEO and former US Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks has been appointed CEO of mining manufacturer Bitfury as the company pursues its next funding round which might come in the form of an IPO.
“With an eye toward the next phase in our evolution, we are thrilled to welcome Brian to the Company. Brian is a respected executive and thought leader with deep regulatory, digital asset and capital markets expertise who shares Bitfury’s vision for a decentralized peer-to peer economy,” the company said in a release.
Bitfury founder and former CEO Valery Vavilov will move over to the role of Chief Vision Officer and the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Given Brooks short stint at Binance.US — he was at the firm for less than five months before leaving due to “differences over strategic direction” — many had wondered where he would reappear, or if he would move on from crypto altogether. During Brooks’ tenure as Acting Comptroller of the Currency, where he oversaw the US’ bank regulator, he paved the way for chartered banks to act as crypto custodians creating the ability for institutions to invest in digital assets.
“Bitfury is an established leader in the digital asset industry, renowned for its sustained research and development efforts and best-in-class proprietary technologies,” Brooks said in a statement. “I look forward to working alongside Valery and Bitfury’s highly experienced leadership team to grow the Company’s core businesses and scale its portfolio of new innovations.”
A Bitfury IPO?
With the bitcoin mining industry exiting China and doubling-down on the US, investors have taken keen interest in the mining industry. As Bitfury was one of the first large-scale mining manufacturers, founded in 2011 and launching its first mining chip in 2013, an IPO is a much talked about next step for the company. Last month its former CEO, Valery Vavilov, confirmed to CoinTelegraph that they were taking the first steps to pursue a public listing.
“As Bitfury and its portfolio of companies continue their global expansion in the digital assets space, Bitfury will be considering an IPO as part of its broader expansion and growth plans,” Vavilov is quoted as saying.
Bitfury’s investors include South Korean internet giant Naver, Macquarie Capital, and Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital.
