The chief executive officer of a major cryptocurrency firm that recently  opened up shop in Malta has resigned just as the company’s exchange’s trade volumes overtook those of market leader Binance.

According to Bloomberg, OKEx CEO Chris Lee left his position in order to “start a new life.”

According to an unnamed spokeswoman, Lee said it was the “greatest pleasure and an honor” to have worked at the exchange.

The company has reportedly outpaced Binance, which also recently started operations in Malta.

Reactions from cryptocurrency figures and social media commentators were skeptical, however, as OKEx’s parent operator OkCoin had previously been embroiled in scandal over allegedly fake trading volume.

OKEX is a leading digital asset exchange that provides global users with a robust digital-asset-only exchange and currently offers token-to token and futures-like trading. 

In April, the government had announced that the Japan-based company was expanding its operations in Malta. OKEx had expressed its confidence that Malta will serve as a base for the expansion of the company.