Vishal Gupta, head of exchange and markets at crypto exchange giant Coinbase, has left the company.
The executive’s departure comes shortly after Coinbase received a Wells Notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Another Crypto Exec leaves the company
In a tweet thread On Monday, April 10, 2023, Vishal Gupta announced that he was leaving Coinbase after serving as the company’s head of exchanges and markets for nearly three years, a position he assumed in September 2020.
The executive detailed some of Coinbase’s accomplishments during his time there, including expanding assets from 236 to 27 and acquiring derivatives platform FairX, which was later rebranded as Coinbase Derivatives Exchange.
Prior to joining the exchange, Gupta served as vice president and head of U.S.-listed options at major investment bank Goldman Sachs for eight years, as listed on his LinkedIn profile. The former Coinbase executive also led the launch and growth of Circle’s USDC.
While a Bloomberg report said the executive was leaving the company to work on a new project, citing an unnamed source, Gupta said his next goal was to build, without giving further details.
5/6 First and foremost, I’m proud of the team we’ve built at @coinbaseexch. It has been an honor to work alongside the Coinbase leadership team and I wanted to express my deep appreciation for the leadership opportunities. @brian_armstrong , @surojit , @GregTusar and others provided me
— Vishal K. Gupta (@vishalkgupta) April 10, 2023
Gupta’s departure is the latest in a long line of executives who have either resigned or left crypto companies, especially amid the bear market. Alex Appleton, CFO and CEO of bitcoin miner Argo Blockchain, resigned in February 2023, while BitMEX CEO Alexander Höptner also stepped down from his leadership role last October.
Coinbase battles with US regulators
Meanwhile, Coinbase has faced regulatory hurdles in the United States. In March 2023, the crypto exchange received a Wells notice from the SEC, with the regulator saying the company may have violated securities laws.
While the exchange believed the SEC was targeting its staking service, cash market, Coinbase Prime, and Coinbase Wallet, the company said it was not breaking any laws and was ready to face any legal action. It was also reported that the American crypto exchange giant was looking to set up a new platform that would serve global customers.
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