Coinbase CPO Leaves For Major VC Firm
In the latest cryptocurrency news, the U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has made an announcement regarding its senior executive. Basically, the company is reportedly losing another one.
Another Senior Executive Leaves
According to the official report, Coinbase’s chief policy officer named Mike Lempres is leaving the firm to take on a new role at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
“As chief legal and risk officer during a time of tremendous growth for Coinbase, Mike was instrumental in building the company’s legal and compliance functions and driving our vision of trust through compliance.”
Coinbase was further quoted saying, “We wish him the best in his new position with Andreessen Horowitz.”
A Series Of Departures
It is worth noting that this is not the first time such narrative happened in Coinbase. That is because the firm has seen a couple of notable departures in recent weeks. In late October, former head of trading Hunter Merghart left just after six months on the job.
When everyone thought the infamous departures would end, Adam White took everyone by surprised. He was one of the most senior executives and fifth-ever employee at Coinbase and also decided to leave the same month. Also, White had been vice president and general manager of Coinbase Institutional.
There have been a series of hirings, too. Back in September, Coinbase took on former Fannie Mae executive Brian Brooks as its new chief legal officer.
To recruit and retain diverse talent, the exchange has this year taken the unusual and expensive step of offering cover of up to $5,000 a year for perks like egg-freezing, over and above its existing health insurance options.
Facing Lawsuit – Again
It seems that lawsuits in Coinbase are not really going to decrease any time soon. From the look of it, one of the biggest market players might find itself in the bad books. Reports suggest that the firm has been accused of messing around with Bitcoin. In fact, this is not the first time someone has tried to put the company before a juror.
In the new case, Coinbase is accused of conducting a flawed listing and trying to inflate the price of Bitcoin Cash while suppressing Bitcoin. In doing so, the exchange’s goal was to influence more BCH transactions and bring itself more profits.
As such, the exchange is culpable in outlawed insider trading activities for which its officials are alleged to have had a hand in. As a matter of fact, this case could pronounce a serious turning point about the policies governing crypto exchanges and their operating procedures especially when it comes to listing digital assets.