Binance.US Appoints Former PayPal, Acorns Executive Jasmine Lee as CFO

Binance.US, the U.S. partner of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, named former PayPal Holdings executive Jasmine Lee as its chief financial officer on Thursday.

Lee most recently served as the CFO and chief operating officer of investing application Acorns. Before that, she spent eight years at PayPal in top executive roles.

Her appointment comes at a time when investors have been dumping digital assets on fears that aggressive interest rate hikes from global central banks would spark an economic slowdown.

The crypto industry has also been in the crosshairs of regulators who worry that the meltdown in the volatile market could hit the broader financial sector. That has prompted a push for more rules on the largely unregulated industry.

“Her experience at Paypal … will be invaluable as we chart our path to an IPO in the coming years,” said Chief Executive Brian Shroder in a statement.

Lee replaces interim CFO Eric Segal, who had held the role since October and has now left the company, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a company spokesman.

Launched in 2019, Binance.US had fetched a pre-money valuation of $4.5 billion (roughly Rs. 35,700 crore) in April when it raised $200 million (roughly Rs. 1,600 crore) in a funding round.

Last year, the company’s former chief executive Brian Brooks resigned just three months after taking up the role.

Recently, Binance US said it is looking to bring-in some more millions in funding in the continuation of its seed round of investments in the coming days. The US-focussed subsidiary of the global crypto exchange is expecting to raise around $50 million (roughly Rs. 390 crore). Binance US is currently under the scanner of the US government for legitimacy verification.

While Binance US has not announced elaborate details about this upcoming investment round, its CEO Brian Shroder did give a hint about it to the media.

© Thomson Reuters 2022