Bitfinex's Chief Strategy Officer Leaves Crypto Exchange

Phil Potter, chief strategy officer for cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, has reportedly left the company.

Reuters

reported Friday that Potter, who is also a director of the 'stablecoin' issuing company Tether, will be temporarily replaced by Jan Ludovicus van der Velde, Bitfinex's CEO.

Following the publication of this article, a representative for Bitfinex provided CoinDesk with a statement from Potter.

He said:

"As Bitfinex pivots away from the U.S., I felt that, as a U.S. person, it was time for me to rethink my position as a member of the executive team. It's been an incredible journey over these past four years, and while I wish my colleagues success and good fortune in their ongoing endeavors, I am also looking forward to new opportunities for myself in the days ahead."

According to data from Coinhills, Bitfinex is the fourth-largest exchange by trade volume, sporting roughly 121,000 BTC or roughly $750 million in volume over the past 24 hours.

The exchange has been at the center of controversy for some time, largely due to its close links to Tether. Just this week, law firm Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan LLP released a report attesting that Tether's USDT token is fully backed by more than $2 billion in reserves. Yet some quarters of the cryptocurrency community remain unconvinced, with the report sparking a fresh round of allegations that USDT has been used to inflate the price of bitcoin.

This article has been amended for clarity and updated with a statement from Phil Potter.

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