Michael Lempres departs Coinbase for Andreessen Horowitz

US crypto exchange Coinbase is losing one of its main players, Bloomberg reports.

Michael Lempres, who was named Chief Policy Officer in September after serving more than a year as its Legal Chief, is heading to Andreessen Horowitz, an early investor in Coinbase.

“As Chief Legal and Risk Officer during a time of tremendous growth for Coinbase, Mike was instrumental in building the company’s legal and compliance functions and driving our vision of trust through compliance,” the San Francisco-based company said. “We wish him the best in his new position with Andreessen Horowitz.”

Bloomberg cites people familiar with the matter who say that Lempres decided to leave when Brian Brooks came onboard and took over most of his responsibilities. Brooks will be in charge of policy efforts as US regulators up their focus on the crypto space.