US Arm Of Binance Hires Former PayPal Exec As CFO As It Aims For IPO

The U.S. arm of Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange, has hired a new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and has set its eyes on gaining approval for an IPO in the country.

According to a report from Protocol, Jasmine Lee previously served as CFO and chief operating officer at Acorns and was also the CFO and COO of PayPal’s consumer product group. Lee will lead the company's finances as it aims to achieve IPO in the next two-three years.

"I feel incredibly lucky to join [this] team at such an exciting time to focus on accelerating our growth trajectory and beginning our journey to IPO," Lee told Protocol via an email.

On the other hand, Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder praised Lee's experience, adding that she was a crucial part of PayPal which he noted is "a public Fortune 500 company" and that her experience will be "invaluable as we chart our path to an IPO in the coming years."

“We are on a very clear pathway to grow multiple products and services on [the way] to IPO, and we felt that Jasmine was the perfect fit for us on this journey,” Shroder told Fortune. “She’s a go-getter,” he added.

In an email to Fortune, Lee further revealed that she "wanted to be in the crypto and DeFi space and was attracted to the company’s [Binance.US] growth potential and unique positioning in the US."

Additionally, Lee will play a key role in the plans of Binance.US to achieve approval for an IPO by "2024 or 2025" via "well-established processes and effective controls for managing business risks," revealed Shroder.

Interestingly, Shroder also hinted that Binance.US will "take advantage of her [Lee's] other operating expertise and knowledge," adding that "we will gladly pull her into areas where she can disproportionately add value." Binance.US doesn't have a COO and Lee might take over those responsibilities as well.