Bitcoin mining company Bitfury has hired former Binance US chief Brian Brooks as its new CEO.
- Brooks is replacing Valery Vavilov, who will stay on as Bitfury?s ?chief vision officer,? according to an announcement Thursday.
- ?Mr. Brooks will lead the 10-year-old crypto unicorn as it launches a new funding round, increases the growth of its mining business with a revolutionary new microchip design and new global data center locations,? Bitfury announced.
- The appointment comes weeks after news that Bitfury was planning to go public in the next 12 months in what would be Europe?s biggest cryptocurrency valuation.
- The Amsterdam-based firm is thought to be valued at $1 billion.
- After just four months with Binance US, Brooks resigned in August citing ?differences over strategic direction? between him and his colleagues.
- His appointment had been seen as a sign that the infamously opaque Binance was seeking an image of greater transparency through hiring well-regarded regulators to senior roles.
- Brooks had previously served as the acting controller of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the regulator for U.S. national banks, between May 2020 and January 2021.
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UPDATE (Nov. 4, 14:16 UTC): Adds Bitfury?s announcement.