<p>Brian Brooks, the former chief legal officer of Coinbase, liquidated $4.6 million worth of stock options when he left the cryptocurrency exchange in March for a top role at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).</p> <p>Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-09/new-occ-chief-cashed-4-6-million-in-coinbase-stock-for-u-s-job">reported</a> the news on Tuesday, citing Brooks’ financial disclosures filed with the government. Besides the stock options, Brooks earned a $1.4 million salary in his 1.7 years tenure at Coinbase, per the report.</p> <p>Brooks previously also worked for housing finance giant Fannie Mae, first as the company’s general counsel and later as a board member, and reportedly received $1.5 million from the company in the past two years. He still has some stocks and bonds left in his portfolio, worth between $1 million and $2.2 million, per the report.</p> <p>Brooks is now making much less at the OCC - under $300,000 a year. He <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/58874/u-s-office-of-the-comptroller-of-the-currency-names-coinbase-exec-as-the-offices-chief-operating-officer">joined</a> the OCC, chief regulator of U.S. national banks, as the first deputy comptroller and chief operating officer in March, and was later <a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/65863/us-bank-regulator-otting-brooks">promoted</a> to the acting comptroller in May.</p> <p>At his role at the OCC, Brooks aims to allow crypto firms to be licensed as financial institutions on a national level rather than on a state-by-state level. He also wants to address issues crypto firms face when accessing banking services.</p>