Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy has brought former Binance.US CEO Brian Brooks and two other executives onto its board. The appointments follow Nasdaq’s recent announcement of MicroStrategy’s inclusion in the Nasdaq 100.
Brian Brooks, Jane Dietze — who also sits on Galaxy Digital’s board — and Gregg Winiarski, chief legal officer at Fanatics Holdings, have joined MicroStrategy’s board of directors. Their addition brings the total number of MicroStrategy board members to nine, according to a Dec. 20 filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Brooks signing on is a “BIG deal,” says Swan
Brooks, Dietze, and Winarski are set to be “eligible for equity awards,” per the statement.
Bitcoin platform Swan Bitcoin said in a Dec. 21 X post, that the appointment of Brooks is a “BIG deal.”
“As Comptroller, Brooks oversaw the entire US banking system and is deeply connected,” Swan Bitcoin said. In August 2021, Brooks resigned as CEO of Binance.US after less than four months, citing "differences over strategic direction."
Crypto commentator MacroScope told their 77,200 X followers that “all three are good especially Brooks.”
Brian Brooks. Source: OCC
Brooks, who served as acting Comptroller of the Currency for nine months in 2021, recently gained attention in the crypto industry after being rumored as one of Donald Trump’s potential picks to replace Gary Gensler as SEC Chair.
On Dec. 4, Trump nominated pro-crypto Paul Atkins to replace Gensler as the new chief of the SEC.
MicroStrategy to be added to Nasdaq 100
The announcement comes just a week after Nasdaq announced that MicroStrategy (MSTR) would be added to the Nasdaq-100 Index starting Dec. 23.
On Dec. 13, Nasdaq confirmed that MicroStrategy is one of three companies to be added to the index alongside Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) and Axon Enterprise, Inc. (AXON).
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Meanwhile, Illumina, Inc. (ILMN), Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI), and Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) will be removed from the index.
The listing means that MicroStrategy, a software company that became a de facto Bitcoin (BTC) hedge fund in 2020, is among the Nasdaq’s 100 largest stocks by market capitalization.
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