Head of Product at Binance, Mayur Kamat quits amidst instability at the exchange

Mayur Kamat, the Global Head of Product at the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance has resigned from his role at the crypto company according to reports on Monday morning. This follows a string of executive exits, job cuts, and regulatory upheavals that the company has had to face since the turn of the year.

The exchange confirmed the departure in a statement to The Block:

“We can confirm that Mayur has stepped down from his role as product lead. We are grateful to him for helping guide Binance through some of our most explosive growth and we wish him the very best.”

Also, Mayur Kamat said he is leaving for “personal reasons and finishing the transition.”

“It is time for me to step down and transition product leadership to Binance’s next-gen leaders. I have worked closely with product leads to ensure a seamless transition. It is also a good time for me personally to take some time off after 20 years of non-stop product work. It has been an experience of a lifetime working at Binance and seeing our user base grow. Thanks to CZ [Binance founder Changpeng Zhao] and the entire leadership team for this amazing opportunity. I will be cheering Binance from the sidelines. – Mayur Kamat, the ex-head of Product.

After working at prominent companies in the tech space like Google, Microsoft and Agode, Mayur Kamat joined Binance in April 2022. Per his LinkedIn profile, he grew the exchange’s user base from 80 million to over 150 million, in 18 months, through various product launches. He also claims that he was instrumental in the launch and success of features like Feed, Tax, and CeDeFi.

Trouble continues at Binance 

This fresh departure is coming at the back of a handful of high-profile exits from the leading exchange. These include Patrick Hillmann, the Chief Strategy Officer until July 2023, Steven Christie, the Senior Vice President for Compliance, and Hon Ng, the General Counsel who left the company in July.

Read also: Binance to end BUSD by 2024; this is the time to convert your holdings

Also, Yibo Ling, United States Chief Business Officer, departed from the exchange around this same period. Note that this exodus of top executives comes at a challenging time for the number 1 crypto exchange which has found itself at odds with regulators in the US, Nigeria and all over the world all year. 

In June, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated a lawsuit against the company, accusing Binance Holdings Ltd., its subsidiary of multiple infractions. The SEC sued the exchange and CEO Changpeng Zhao for allegedly operating a “web of deception,” listing 13 charges, including claims the company artificially inflated its trading volumes, diverted customer funds and failed to restrict United States customers from its platform. 

Also, the Nigerian SEC recently declared the company’s activities in the country illegal and warned citizens against trading on the exchange. Additionally, Binance had to lay off over 1000 of its workforce, according to a Wall Street Journal report in July. 

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Binance has sacked over 1,000 workers in recent weeks 

There are different conjectures on what might be going on behind the scenes at Binance but it is highly likely that there might be an ongoing criminal investigation led by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) against the exchange. Note that the SEC recently made a confidential legal move in a ‘sealed filing’ against Binance, with the exact details remaining concealed from the public.

With the rough patch Binance is currently facing, it is only advisable to keep off funds and assets from centralised crypto exchanges, at least for now.