Brian Brooks, the former Acting Comptroller of the Currency for the United States government, has joined the board of directors of crypto-focused asset manager Hashdex.
In a July 20 announcement, Hashdex said that Brooks has become the fifth member of its board and will serve as a strategic advisor to the company. Brooks was Coinbase’s chief legal officer from 2018 to 2020, served as acting comptroller of the currency from 2020 to 2021, served as CEO of Binance.US for about four months, and was CEO of Bitfury from October 2021 to December 2022.
Hashdex co-founder and CEO Marcelo Sampaio cited his experience in “financial regulation and the crypto industry” for bringing Brooks on board. Brooks is currently employed as a managing partner at venture capital firm Valor Capital Group, which has previously backed crypto companies through various funding rounds.
“Crypto assets are changing the economics of nearly every industry around the world by allowing individuals to have an ownership stake in the networks in which they participate,” Brooks said. “I’m ready to help [Hashdex] Fulfill your vision of bridging the divide between traditional financial markets and the crypto economy.”
Hashdex is excited to announce @valorcapgroup Managing Partner & Experienced #crypto Executive Brian Brooks (@bryanbrooksus) to our Board of Directors.
More here: https://t.co/cZV5OzD1z2
— hashdex (@hashdex) 20 July 2023
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Brooks’ brief stint as CEO of Binance.US in 2021 – taking over from former CEO Catherine Coley – appeared to surprise many in the crypto sector. He cited “differences over strategic direction” at the time, but in June filed a case with the Securities and Exchange Commission against Binance, allegedly claiming Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao did not allow Brooks the autonomy to run the US exchange.
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