Speaking to CoinDesk, Shroder said he would build on Binance’s market-leading position by helping the exchange «develop more at a local level and differentiate products to further meet the needs of the diverse consumer base.»
A former Uber staffer has joined Binance to help the crypto exchange expand into new markets.
Matt Shroder was announced as Binance’s «VP of Global Expansion Operations» on Thursday. He was previously Uber’s «Global Head of Product Operations.»
Shroder’s new role will include helping the exchange scale its operations and services, especially in emerging markets.
Binance has used fiat currency onramps to expand into new markets before. As part of its charm offensive in Russia, where the exchange wants to establish a developer office, Binance added support for the ruble on its peer-to-peer facility, giving Russian citizens feeless trading with selected cryptocurrencies.
“Shroder is able to anticipate local challenges on the ground and how Binance can better serve people at a local level across the globe,» said Binance co-founder Yi He. Schroder’s experience in product strategy and operations would allow the exchange to «continue to improve and innovate,» He added.
Shroder served in multiple roles at Uber after joining the ridesharing giant in 2013. According to his LinkedIn profile, he left Uber in December 2019.
Shroder told CoinDesk there are parallels between Binance and Uber: both are global companies that face most of their competition from smaller, local providers. There is also a similar dynamic in how both companies must tailor their offerings to suit regulatory requirements on a country-by-country basis.
«My time at Uber gave me experience in building products and teams that take advantage of the efficiency you gain by being larger, However, you need to know when it’s important to have a local presence in order to stay familiar with consumer and market needs,» Shroder said.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao agreed, adding: “Matt has tackled many similar challenges at Uber – a company that was leading an entirely new industry, the sharing economy – which we feel resembles our industry today.»
Binance in Talks to Launch Crypto Trading Joint Venture in Japan
Crypto exchange Binance is eyeing the launch of a new trading platform dedicated for the Japanese market.According to a blog announcement on Thursday, the firm said it is discussing a strategic partnership with Z Corporation and existing Japan-based exchange TaoTao to work together to provide «trading services» in the country.
Z Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Z Holdings Corporation, itself a subsidiary of Tokyo-based multinational Softbank (formerly Yahoo Japan).
The three firms would harness Binance’s technologies in order to build out the new service, according to the announcement. The two Japanese firms will take on the responsibility of working with Japanese regulator, the Financial Service Agency, to ensure the new venture is compliant with local rules.
The news comes just days after Binance made an investment in South Korean stablecoin issuer BxB, saying the firm would work to support a new support center it will set up for local exchange users.
Binance Helped UK Police Investigate Criminal Involved in $50 Million Fraud
Binance, the top crypto exchange by trading volume, has said it helped British police bust a cybercriminal who sold phishing tools that resulted in the theft of millions of pounds.
In a blog post on Thursday, Binance chief compliance officer Samuel Lim said that the exchange had worked with the Metropolitan Police Service’s Cyber Crime Unit in the investigation of a Bulgarian individual who was suspected of developing and selling scripts for phishing campaigns that targeted users of over 50 services.
The scripts allowed other criminals to obtain personal details from users of those services, which was in turn said to be sold on the dark web.
All in all, Lim said around 500,000 people were targeted, a majority by email, with the criminals raking in £41.6 million (over $51 million) from their victims.
However, according to the post, the Bulgarian was recently extradited to the UK. He stood trial at Southwark Crown Court in London and, after pleading guilty to five counts of fraud, he was handed nine years in prison.
While Li doesn’t identify the individual, a report in The Register on Sept. 20 names him as Svetoslav Donchev, 37, from the city of Pleven.
The piece further details that the phishing scripts were embedded in clone websites of 53 legitimate U.K. companies and sent gathered data on users to a server controlled by the criminals. They would then target the potential victims with phishing emails.
Binance’s Lim said on the exchange’s involvement in the investigation, “We … recognize that cooperation with law enforcement entities around the world plays a large part in fostering a safe environment in this space.”
