Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase loses one more top executive as Asiff Hirji steps down

Asiff Hirji, president and chief operating officer at Coinbase, has joined the growing list of senior executives exiting the firm in the past couple of months, Bloomberg reported.

Hirji joined the company in December 2017 from Andreessen Horowitz and is stepping down from his role after around one and a half years.

“We’re incredibly grateful for Asiff’s contributions over the past 18 months,” Brian Armstrong, co-founder and CEO of Coinbase, said in a statement.

“His experience and mentorship helped guide Coinbase through an important chapter in its history. He joined at a critical time when both the company and crypto space were going through rapid growth, bringing his extensive experience to bear when it was most necessary.”

Coinbase has announced that Emilie Choi, its current vice president of business, data and international, would replace Hirji as the new COO. Choi played a pivotal role in the company’s $300 million series E funding round announced last October, which brought its valuation to $8 billion, CoinDesk reported.

In the past couple of months, a number of top-level executives have announced their departure from Coinbase including Chief technology officer Balaji Srinivasan; Dan Romero, vice president of Coinbase’s international business; Christine Sandler, director of institutional sales; and Adam White, ex-vice president and general manager.

The Information reported that Tina Bhatnagar, the firm’s current vice president of operations and technology, is also expected to leave Coinbase soon.