Brian Brooks, former regulator in the United States (US) and ex-CEO of Binance.US and Bitfury, and legal director of Coinbase, is the new – and fifth – member of the board of directors of crypto asset manager Hashdex. The executive has also been a managing partner of Valor Capital Group since last February. The venture capital firm is one of Hashdex’s investors, and therefore, he will be the fund’s representative in the startup that launched the first crypto ETF in Brazil.
According to a press release, Brooks will serve as a strategic advisor, providing guidance on global regulation to accelerate Hashdex’s international growth. In a communiqué, Valor Capital, that has partners from Brazil, said that Brooks will also seek to attract more institutional investors to Hashdex and strengthen strategic partnerships with financial organisations and international public policy makers.
The communiqué does not mention that he was CEO of Binance.US, a theme that Brooks avoids to talk about, and CEO of Bitfury.
Usually, the executive is cited as the “first fintech controller” and “cryptocurrency controller” for his work as acting Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) of the US. This is a division of the American Treasury Department that issues letters and oversees the financial system.
Brian Brooks is keen on crypto
Also, Brooks managed to grant the first letters for fintechs and crypto assets companies. After leaving the government, he ended up at Binance, where he stayed only three months, leaving due to strategic differences, he has stated.
According to Marcelo Sampaio, Co-Founder and CEO of Hashdex, Brooks’ ability “to drive innovative and measured public policies is much needed at this time.” “Crypto assets are changing the economy of almost every industry around the world, allowing people to have a stake in the networks they are part of,” said Brooks.
Brooks professional background also includes his position as general legal counsel for Fannie Mae, vice president of OneWest Bank, N.A., and managing partner of the Washington, D.C. office of O’Melveny & Myers LLP. In addition, he has served on the boards of public and private companies such as Wander, Curve, Huski.ai, EarnUp, LoanSnap, TextIQ, HyperDraft, and others.
