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Binance chief Changpeng Zhao branded reports surrounding the departures of senior executives “FUD,” claiming they are simply part of normal staff turnover.

Zhao, co-founder and chief executive officer of the crypto exchange operator, tweeted Friday morning Asia time that the causes of the departures were “dreamed up” by news outlets and were “completely wrong.” FUD is a commonly-used term in the crypto community referring to fear, uncertainty and doubt.

“As markets and the global environment for crypto changes, as our organization evolves, and as personal situations change, there is turnover at every company. We thank all of our ex-team members for their contributions to our growth, and wish them all the best. We also congratulate our team members who have grown into these new roles. They are all truly high caliber,” Zhao wrote in the tweet.

Senior execs depart

A number of senior executives, including general counsel Han Ng, chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann and SVP for compliance Steven Christie, have informed Zhao of their departure this week, Fortune reported Thursday, citing sources.

Fortune also reported that the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is in full-on turmoil amid Justice Department investigations, with a mini-exodus of senior officials adding to the pressure.

Hillmann tweeted Thursday that he is parting ways with the company but “on good terms.”

“I’ve been here for two years and it’s simply time for me to move on to the next challenge,” Hillmann said, adding that his family was about to welcome a newborn and it was the right time to step aside.

Binance said it didn’t have anything further to share when contacted by The Block earlier today.

© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The agency searched the Los Angeles home of Jesse Powell as it probes whether he had interfered with computer accounts of the non-profit. A lawyer for Powell said he’s done “nothing wrong” and that the matter does not touch on his crypto interests.

Last week, the floor price of popular NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club fell to a 20-month low. But determining the value of an individual NFT requires a more nuanced understanding of floor price, rarity traits and cultural significance.

The FBI searched the home of former Kraken CEO Jesse Powell back in March as part of an investigation into claims he hacked and cyber-stalked a nonprofit arts group, according to The New York Times. 

Agents with the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of California have been looking into Powell since at least last fall. The nonprofit alleged that Powell interfered with its computer accounts, including blocking access to emails and other messages, according to people with knowledge of the matter who spoke to The New York Times. 

The agents searched Powell’s home in Brentwood, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, and took electronic devices. Prosecutors have not accused Powell of any crimes, The New York Times said.

Powell, who co-founded the Kraken exchange, stepped down as CEO late last year and continues to serve as chairman of the board. 

A Kraken spokeswoman told the New York Times that the investigation has nothing to do with the company and that it had no reason to believe that prosecutors were looking into other potential issues.  

© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Lightning Labs, the firm building out the Bitcoin Lightning Network, has unveiled a new suite of tools designed for AI development.

The tools, which include LangChainBitcoin, aim to enable developers to seamlessly integrate Bitcoin and Lightning into their AI applications. The suite includes LLM Agent BitcoinTools, which allows developers to create AI agents that can hold bitcoin balances, send/receive bitcoin on Lightning and interact with Lightning Network Daemon nodes.

Additionally, the release includes the Aperture reverse proxy server, which supports Lightning Node Connect and offers dynamic API endpoint pricing.

The tools are expected to enhance accessibility and functionality in AI infrastructure, while leveraging the power of Bitcoin and Lightning.

© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Binance chief strategy officer Patrick Hillman confirmed that he’s departing the company, tweeting on Thursday that he was doing so on good terms. Fortune reported earlier in the day that he, along with other top executives, were departing the company. 

“I continue to respect and support @cz_binance and am grateful for having had the incredible opportunity to work under his leadership,” Hillmann said, referring to CEO Changpeng Zhao. “I’ve been here for two years and it’s simply time for me to move on to the next challenge.”

Hillmann also noted that his family will be welcoming another child within the next few hours and said the timing was right to step aside. 

“I will continue to cheer on my colleagues at Binance and support this industry as it matures and evolves. Blockchain and crypto is here to stay and I am excited to watch it explode in the years ahead,” Hillmann added.

Other Binance departures reported

Fortune reported that general counsel Han Ng and SVP for compliance Steven Christie are also departing the company. The publication said that the executives decided to depart because of Zhao’s response to an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Department of Justice. 

Binance said it didn’t have anything further to share when contacted by The Block. 

The embattled exchange has been facing a number of  regulatory challenges in the U.S. and abroad. The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the company of lying to customers and operating in the U.S. illegally, while the DOJ is reportedly investigating whether it violated sanctions against Russia. 

© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Three senior officials left the exchange this week, a source told Fortune.

A criminal investigator in Moscow extorted thousands of bitcoin from the crypto hackers he arrested. Now, these coins are moving onto exchanges, Crystal Blockchain found.

“We are in the realm of enabling use cases that weren’t previously possible,” Lightning Labs CEO Elizabeth Stark told CoinDesk.

The entrance of large investment firms like BlackRock and Fidelity into the race to launch a spot bitcoin ETF fund illustrates the extent to which bitcoin is no longer “a passing fad,” according to Grayscale chief executive Michael Sonnenshein. 

The leader of the largest crypto asset manager told The Block that “market participants are reacting favorably to the entrance of legacy financial institutions into Bitcoin — a trend that lends further validity to an asset that was once believed to be a passing fad,” he said. 

Indeed, on Wednesday the CEO of BlackRock — which submitted a surprise filing for a spot bitcoin ETF in mid-June — told Fox Business that bitcoin was equivalent to digital gold. Ironically, that echoes the underpinning thesis of a 2020 marketing campaign run by Grayscale. 

In 2017, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink described bitcoin as “an index of money laundering.”

Bitcoin staying power

“Recent news of new entrants into Bitcoin underscores the staying power of this asset class, more broadly, and many investors view this as a once in a generation investment opportunity,” Sonnenshein added, referring to the surge in competition in the crypto asset management space. 

Grayscale, which is vying to upgrade its flagship GBTC into a spot bitcoin fund, has seen its estimated revenue from its main products GBTC and ETHE hit a monthly high for the year this June. 

© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.