The chief operating officer (COO) at digital currency exchange BitMEX, Angelina Kwan, has reportedly stepped down.

A spokesperson familiar with the matter told industry-focused media outlet The Block on Sept. 9: "We can confirm that Angelina Kwan is leaving the company and is on gardening leave now. That’s all we can say on the matter at the moment, but we wish Angelina all the best."

A veteran Hong Kong regulator

Kwan — who previously covered enforcement and market supervision as part of her role as director of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission — joined BitMEX last October.

She also served as managing director and head of regulatory compliance for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing for almost three years prior to accepting the BitMEX post. At the time, Kwan said that she believes an absence of robust regulation creates a lack of confidence among investors who might otherwise trade on cryptocurrency exchanges.

At publishing time, BitMEX is the largest cryptocurrency exchange by reported 24-hour trade volume, which is currently more than $3.4 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

In mid-August, news broke that the United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority upheld its complaint against a Bitcoin (BTC) advertisement from BitMEX. The ad in question featured a logarithmic graph showing the value of Bitcoin against the United States dollar over the past decade.

Other departures from the blockchain and crypto world

Earlier in September, the CEO of Overstock’s blockchain subsidiary tZERO, Saum Noursalehi, addressed the departure of Overstock’s CEO Patrick Byrne in a letter to investors. Noursalehi assured stakeholders that Byrne’s departure will not have an impact on tZERO’s daily operations and implementation of the firm’s strategic roadmap.

In August, Web3 Foundation director Ryan Zurrer announced that he is stepping down from his role at the decentralized web-focused nonprofit to pursue his interest in investments and decentralized autonomous organizations.