Binance.US hires former Acorns, PayPal exec Jasmine Lee as CFO

After nine months of searching, Binance.US, the American partner of the world’s largest crypto exchange, has finally found a new permanent chief financial officer (CFO). Jasmine Lee is coming on board at the company after serving as CFO and chief operating officer (COO) in a dual role at fintech app Acorns for nearly three years, according to her Linkedin.

Prior to Acorns, Lee worked for eight years at PayPal, holding various leadership roles including CFO and COO for its consumer product group. She will replace Binance.US’s interim CFO, Eric Segal, who was appointed last October after former CFO Joshua Sroge left the company.

Lee’s background fits well with Binance.US’s ambition to go public within the next two to three years — a timeline the firm’s CEO, Brian Shroder, shared with journalist in April. In the company’s announcement today, both Lee and Shroder reiterated the company’s plans.

“Jasmine is a rare talent who possesses more than 20 years of deep knowledge in both fintech and high growth startup environments. Her experience at Paypal, a public Fortune 500 company, in particular, will be invaluable as we chart our path to an IPO in the coming years,” Shroder said.

Acorns is not currently a public company but after its $2 billion deal to merge with blank-check company Pioneer Merger Corp fell through earlier this year, it is reportedly planning to pursue the traditional IPO route.

Shroder, who was promoted from president to CEO at Binance.US last October, has been focused on gearing up to take the company public since he took the top role. He closed the company’s first venture round in April, bringing in over $200 million from investors at a $4.5 billion valuation. Since then, he has said publicly that the company will soon announce an extension to that funding round.

Despite a downturn in the broader crypto markets, Binance.US told its employees last month that it is poised to weather the storm. It is actively hiring for over 80 new roles to grow its ~400-person team, journalist reported last month. The company has also launched several new offerings in the first half of 2022, including zero-fee Bitcoin trading and a staking product.

Binance.US launched as a standalone, independently managed entity in 2019 but retains its connection to the global Binance exchange through its shared founder and shareholder, billionaire Changpeng Zhao. Binance.US also licenses its core technology as well as naming and branding rights from Binance, according to Shroder.