Coinbase Head of Exchange Announces Departure, Says He Has “A Lot to Build”

On Monday, April 10th, Vishal Gupta announced his departure from Coinbase, the company where he served as head of exchange. According to Gupta, he is very proud of his 2.5 years with the company but feels “it’s time for (him) to move on”. Coinbases’ now-former head of exchange also spent years working for Goldman Sachs and was instrumental in the launch of Circle’s USDC.

Vishal Gupta Announces Departure From Coinbase

Vishal Gupta, Coinbase’s now-former head of exchange, announced his departure from the company in a Twitter thread published this Monday. While Gupta stated he is very proud of the work he has done over his 2.5 years with the firm, he has decided it is time to “move on”. Throughout the thread, he pointed out several milestones Coinbase achieved in the time he was with the company.

These include, for example, the acquisition of FairX—completed in January 2022—but stated he is particularly “fond” of the launch of USDC. USDC is one of the world’s largest stablecoins and is a joint project of Coinbase and Circle. Gupta also pointed out that, during his time with the exchange, the company expanded its market share from 35% in 2020 to a recent high of around 65%.

Apart from his time at Coinbase, Vishal Gupta spent several years at Goldman Sachs. Earlier on Monday, Bloomberg reported that Gupta is planning to launch a new cryptocurrency project and Coinbase’s former head of exchange said in his own Twitter thread that “there’s a lot to build out there”, and added that “that’s just what (he is) going to do”.

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Coinbase’s Head of Exchange Departs In A Turbulent Time For the Company

While Gupta made no mention of it in the thread, his departure comes at a trying time for Coinbase, as well as the wider cryptocurrency industry. Coinbase has recently found itself under regulatory pressure as it has received a Wells notice warning that the SEC is considering an enforcement action due to alleged securities laws violations. Furthermore, the exchange’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, has been one of the louder voices warning of the wider regulatory crackdown on the industry.

When US authorities brought enforcement actions against the stablecoin issuer Paxos, and the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, Armstrong took to Twitter to discuss rumors that the SEC may be seeking to ban crypto staking entirely. His warnings may have some backing as the Commission’s Gary Gensler stated in an interview he gave around the same time that most of the digital assets industry is not compliant and that all staking services are essentially the same.

Along with Kraken, Paxos, and Coinbase, Binance also found itself in hot water with American watchdogs in recent weeks as it was sued by the CFTC. Despite the troubling developments and several notable departures due to the regulatory landscape in the US, the digital assets industry has seemingly been doing well throughout the first quarter of 2023. Major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are up about 75% YTD, and, similarly, major digital assets-related stocks have also seen a significant rise with Coinbase itself being nearly 97% in the green in the same period.

What will Gupta’s next project be? Tell us what you think in the comments below.