Smerkis Vladimir Yuryevich

Smerkis Vladimir Yuryevich

Vladimir Smerkis was born on June 25, 1984 in Moscow.

Education

In 2002 he graduated from Ebakas College. In 2006 he graduated from the Russian Economic University named after G.V. Plekhanov with a degree in Marketing.

Career

2003-2007

From 2003 to 2007 he was a director of WeLoveWork, as well as the creator and editor-in-chief of the site RnbStyle.ru. From 2007 to 2008 he worked as a manager in the field of cultural direction of Red Bull. In 2008, he was a managing partner of MCA Communications and director of events at Global Point. From 2008 to 2009 he worked as director of marketing and sales of the agency Travel Technology Group. From 2009 to 2010 he was the head of the directorate of Internet projects of the music channel A-One.

2010-2017

From 2010 to 2012, he worked at Mail.Ru Group, where he was first brand manager, and then deputy vice president for international development.

From 2012 to 2017, he was a managing partner and co-owner of a digital agency Digital360.ru.

In March 2017, he became the managing partner of The Token Fund. In November 2017, he founded Tokenbox, where he is also a managing partner.

2022: Appointment as Director of Binance in Russia

On January 11, 2022, the cryptocurrency Binance exchange announced the appointment of Vladimir Smerkis as director of the company in. Russia The main tasks of the head of the representative office will be:

• strengthening Binance's presence in Russia;
• work on legitimization and GR interaction with the aim of mass adaptation of blockchain in the country;
• marketing and PR presence;
• working with the developer community to develop the Binance Smart Chain;
• NFT and GameFi projects, as well as metaverse.

It was also announced the appointment of the ex-director of the reporting collection and processing department of non-bank financial institutions Bank of Russia Olga Goncharova to the position of GR-director of the Binance crypto exchange in Russia and. CIS^[1]

2023: Leaving Binance

In early September 2023 Binance To EuropeGleb Kostarev , Vladimir Smerkis, director of the crypto exchange in Vostochny and director of the company in the CIS, announced their departure from the cryptocurrency exchange. It comes after Binance allowed a full exit from the market. RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Friends, today is my last day at Binance. I am leaving the position of VP, responsible for Eastern Europe, the CIS, Turkey, Australia and New Zealand, - wrote Gleb Kostarev on Facebook (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation and banned).

Gleb Kostarev and Vladimir Smerkis left Binance

Smerkis, in turn, said on Instagram (owned by Meta, which is recognized in Russia as an extremist organization, its activities are prohibited) that since September 7, 2023 he has not worked at Binance.

In those two years, I haven't done the business, investment, consulting, marketing, start-ups and education I love so much. I gave 1,000% of myself to the company. It's time to announce what I'll set aside my 35 hours for in a day that's freed up, "he wrote, vowing to share reasons for leaving and plans later.

Binance confirmed that both top executives left the company, but declined to comment further.

Some members of our team are moving to higher positions, some are moving beyond Binance. Some of them are engaged in new interesting projects. We stand with everyone. We are a single community, "wrote the head of the crypto exchange Changpeng Zhao on Twitter.

At the end of August 2023, Binance previously announced that it was considering a complete withdrawal from the Russian market. Over the past months, Binance has consistently limited opportunities for Russian users amid accusations of supporting circumvention of sanctions. Back in March 2023, the exchange closed access to p2p operations in US dollars and euros for Russians in connection with the sanctions, but they still had the opportunity to use other currencies.^[2]

Notes