Amid US SEC lawsuit, Binance taps OKX veteran to lead global marketing

Crypto exchange Binance has appointed Rachel Conlan (previously global marketing head at OKX) as its new vice president of global marketing.

In a statement, Binance said it aims to solidify and expand its position as a "trusted brand" in the crypto industry. Conlan's introduction comes a day after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a securities violation lawsuit against the crypto exchange.

However, both the incidents seem unrelated as Binance did not mention the recent lawsuit when it announced hiring Conlan. Binance is yet to respond to The Decrypting Story's queries on whether the two incidents are unrelated.

In her new role, Conlan will report to Yi He, Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Binance, and oversee regional and global marketers.

"With Rachel's extensive experience, she will help propel the industry forward, introducing more people to the blockchain, familiarising them with Binance, and collectively building this still a very early-stage industry," said Yi He.

Conlan's responsibilities will also include leading marketing and brand campaigns on a global scale, and managing the company's brand partnerships and entertainment properties that feature prominent figures, including Cristiano Ronaldo, The Weeknd, Alpine Formula 1, and social media influencer Khaby Lame.

Prior to joining Binance, Conlan held the position of Global Head of Brand Marketing and Partnerships at the crypto exchange OKX.

During her tenure at OKX, she drove the company's marketing efforts through strategic partnerships with Manchester City FC, McLaren Racing, and the Tribeca Film Festival.

The lawsuit

Presently, Binance is dealing with the effects of the SEC's lawsuit against it, where the regulatory body alleged that Binance and its CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao violated federal securities laws by offering unregistered securities to the general public in the form of BNB crypto tokens and Binance-linked BUSD stablecoins.

The lawsuit further claimed that Binance's staking service violated securities laws and also accused Binance of commingling customer funds. It implied that Zhao had undisclosed control over Binance.US, with a Zhao-owned entity artificially inflating the platform's trading volume.

Binance responded to the SEC's lawsuit by criticising the labelling of certain tokens and services as securities without providing clear guidance to the digital asset industry.