Coinbase head of exchange departs and plans to start new crypto project: Report

Vishal Gupta, who has been the head of exchange at Coinbase, is reportedly leaving his position after more than two years at the United States-based cryptocurrency exchange.

According to an April 10 Bloomberg report, Gupta planned to exit Coinbase but remain in the crypto space, suggesting he could be planning to start a new project focused on digital assets or blockchain. Prior to his time at Coinbase, Gupta had been the head of USD Coin (USDC) for stablecoin issuer Circle and earlier was a vice president for Goldman Sachs.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was one of the first people to congratulate Vishal Gupta on his position as Coinbase head of exchange in 2020. Source: Twitter

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The head of exchange’s reported departure came amid legal and regulatory scrutiny at Coinbase. In March, the crypto exchange reported receiving a Wells notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, hinting at a potential enforcement action. Coinbase is also backing plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control for its decision to sanction the Tornado Cash mixer.

At the time of publication, neither Gupta’s LinkedIn page nor his Twitter profile showed any change in his employment at Coinbase. Cointelegraph also reached out to Coinbase regarding Gupta, but did not receive a response.

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