- Eleanor Hughes, an accomplished legal practitioner with 15 years of experience, has been appointed as Binance’s General Counsel
- Before her recent promotion, Eleanor was instrumental in securing instrumental licenses and registrations for the biggest global crypto exchange in various jurisdictions.
- Hughes’ new role was vacated by Han Ng recently.
Binance announced the appointment of Eleanor Hughes, a legal practitioner who has been instrumental in the crypto exchange’s success, as a General Counsel.
According to the article on the Binance website, Eleanor led Binance team efforts in securing licenses and registrations in numerous jurisdictions.
Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s founder and CEO, attested to Eleanor’s legal prowess and intelligence. He lauds her performance at Binance and as a team advisor on legal matters.
“With Eleanor at the helm, I am confident that our industry-leading legal team will continue to flourish in its mission to always protect users and manage risks on our platform,” Changpeng Zhao said.
Eleanor Hughes’ undeniable track record of success has made her a perfect choice for the position. According to the press release, she will lead a team of 85 lawyers.
“A major focus of her work will be on collaborating with Binance’s Global Compliance team to support our commitment to responsibly grow the global Web3 industry in close collaboration with regulators and policymakers around the world,” states the press release.
Binance Regulatory Challenges
Hughes’ new role was vacated by Han Ng, who left Binance this month, alongside two executives at Binance: the Chief strategy officer, Patric Hilman, and Vice President of Compliance, Steven Christie.
The resignation of high–profile employees of Binance sent waves of concern across the crypto industry. Even though the two executives explained their reasons for leaving Binance, some crypto users expressed doubt, leading to rumors.
In response to the rumors surrounding the incident, Binance founder and CEO said it was an attempt to FUD the crypto platform. He also added that such resignations regularly occurred in the company’s operations.
After the collapse of FTX last May, Binance has been the subject of several rumors, as some users expect the largest cryptocurrency infrastructure company to collapse.
The biggest crypto exchange has been facing some regulatory challenges lately, which sparks rumors of an impending collapse.
The Securities Exchange Commission charged Binance for allegedly trading securities as an unregistered broker. SEC also charges the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, and BAM Trading, the operative arm of Binance, for market manipulation.
Although the largest global cryptocurrency exchange has denied the allegations, there was a large outflow of customers’ funds from the exchange platform.
After the commencement of the lawsuit, a couple of Binance partners have withdrawn their support and services for the crypto exchange.
Her Background
After graduating from the University of Cambridge with First Class Honors, she spent the next decade of her life pursuing her legal profession in US law firms, where she worked on contentious matters in litigation.
Eleanor joined Binance’s legal team in 2021. She was appointed the Head of Legal for APAC and MENA regions. As Head of Legal, Eleanor managed a team of lawyers focusing on regulatory affairs, commercial law, and litigation. She was instrumental in securing licenses and registration for Binance operations in various jurisdictions like Bahrain, Dubai, etc.