Biggest Crypto CEO Exits of 2022 – Decrypt

As the crypto market declined in 2022, the departures started en masse. Several excessive-profile CEO stepped down from their respective roles on the head of crypto-centric corporations in 2022, together with Jesse Powell of Kraken, Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy, Alex Mashinsky of Celsius, and Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX.The causes given for stepping down range—the chapter of their firm for some, for others, the volatility of the crypto market or a transition to a brand new part for the agency.The collapse of Terra despatched ripples all through the crypto universe, and a number of other firms, together with Three Arrows Capital, Voyager Digital, and FTX turned bancrupt and ceased operations.While Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon didn’t step down or resign—in the meantime changing into a world fugitive—the management at different firms started to fall like dominos. Here’s a take a look at some of the largest departures this yr so as of once they occurred.Compass Mining CEO Whitney GibbsBitcoin mining {hardware} firm Compass Mining noticed the primary huge transfer in June because the crypto market imploded, when co-founder and CEO Whitney “Whit” Gibbs resigned alongside Chief Finance Officer Jodie Fisher.Compass had come underneath fireplace for failing to pay utility and internet hosting payments tied to a facility in Maine owned by Dynamics Mining. “All you needed to [do] was pay $250k for 3 months of energy consumption,” Dynamics tweeted at Compass in June.”Compass Mining was created to make mining simple and accessible,” the corporate stated following the resignations. “We acknowledge that there have been a number of setbacks and disappointments which have detracted from that goal.”Algorand CEO Steven KokinosIn July, Algorand CEO Steven Kokinos departed the company behind the layer-1 blockchain platform of the identical title, saying that he was desperate to discover “different pursuits.” Algorand, which has attracted the likes of FIFA and Napster to construct on its platform, promoted COO Sean Ford to be its interim CEO.Kokinos, who will function a senior advisor to Algorand into mid-2023, isn’t going far: he stated he deliberate to work extra carefully with tasks which might be constructing on the platform.Genesis Trading CEO Michael MoroCrypto dealer Genesis took a pair laborious hits in 2022, together with being the largest creditor of the collapsed Three Arrows Capital—to the tune of $2.36 billion—and being impacted by FTX’s downfall as nicely. In August, following the Three Arrows revelations, CEO Michael Moro stepped down.“It has been an honor to guide Genesis for almost a decade, and I stay up for supporting the corporate’s subsequent part of development,” Moro stated upon the announcement, noting that he would advise the agency by the transition.Genesis introduced a 20% discount in employees on the similar time, and named COO Derar Islim as interim CEO. In November, Genesis Trading halted all withdrawals from its lending arm because of the impression of the FTX collapse. The Digital Currency Group-owned Genesis reportedly owes Gemini Earn customers some $900 million, amongst different liabilities.Alameda Research Co-CEO Sam TrabuccoIn August, Sam Trabucco, co-CEO of Alameda Research, stepped down, citing a need to loosen up. Trabucco’s co-CEO Caroline Ellison continued as Alameda’s sole CEO till the agency filed for bankruptcy alongside FTX in November.”I can’t personally proceed to justify the time funding of being a central half of Alameda,” Trabucco stated of his departure. “Everyone works actually laborious right here, and spending a ‘regular’ quantity of time at work is hard—particularly if you’re making an attempt to be a frontrunner.”In hindsight now, of course, there are questions on how a lot Trabucco knew about Alameda’s trading losses this summer season and the way FTX buyer funds had been used to assist plug the outlet in its steadiness sheet.
Last yr, when @SBF_FTX introduced that Caroline and I had been Alameda’s co-CEOs, the aim for all concerned was to carry titles in step with actuality — the 2 of us had been appearing as CEOs for fairly a while, and we wished our outdoors picture to replicate that.
— Sam Trabucco (@AlamedaTrabucco) August 24, 2022MicroStrategy CEO Michael SaylorProlific Bitcoiner Michael Saylor additionally stepped down from his place as CEO of cloud software program firm MicroStrategy in August. While not CEO, Saylor retains a management place as govt chairman for the corporate he co-based in 1989.While MicroStrategy’s core focus shouldn’t be on cryptocurrency-associated companies, the corporate has quickly change into identified for holding the biggest stash of Bitcoin by a public firm. As of December 28, when it final disclosed its BTC holdings, MicroStrategy stated that it held about 132,500 BTC—or $2.2 billion value as we speak. But the corporate spent over $4 billion to accumulate that BTC since 2020.When saying the transfer in August, Saylor stated that he would proceed to guide its “bitcoin acquisition technique.” He added, “My focus is bitcoin advocacy and schooling, like with the Bitcoin Mining Council, and being spokesperson and envoy to international bitcoin group.”FTX US President Brett HarrisonIn September, FTX US President Brett Harrison out of the blue stepped down to maneuver into an advisory function with the agency. Harrison introduced his resignation on Twitter, saying he intends to remain within the crypto trade.”I’m remaining within the trade with the aim of eradicating technological obstacles to full participation in and maturation of international crypto markets, each centralized and decentralized,” he wrote.
1/ An announcement: I’m stepping down as President of @FTX_Official. Over the following few months I’ll be transferring my duties and transferring into an advisory function on the firm.
— Brett Harrison (@BrettHarrison88) September 27, 2022“Until then, I’ll be aiding Sam [Bankman-Fried] and the group with this transition to make sure FTX ends the yr with all its attribute momentum,” he stated, trying to sound optimistic. Unfortunately, Harrison’s optimism didn’t save FTX, who has claimed to be separate from FTX US, from submitting for Chapter 11 chapter safety in November.Harrison commented on the FTX fallout in mid-December with out mentioning his former employer by title, tweeting that he “had no private expertise with dangerous, consequential betrayal in my life till not too long ago.He added that he “can solely thank God I’ll by no means know or acknowledge in myself that sort of pathological, corrupting selfishness. It is malign and toxic.” Harrison additionally stated that he’s excited to start out his new firm and that he “won’t abandon this trade.”Kraken CEO Jesse PowellKraken CEO Jesse Powell then stepped down in September. Powell stated that as Kraken grew, operating the corporate turned extra of a drain and “much less enjoyable.” He stated he plans to remain engaged with the corporate he based in 2011.In June, Kraken was embroiled in controversy when it took a agency stance on what was described as “anti-woke” sentiment, as an alternative urging employees to concentrate on crypto as an alternative of cultural and variety points. In a a lot-debated Twitter thread, Powell advised that any workers “triggered” by the mandate ought to depart the corporate.In November, Kraken introduced that it could cut roughly 1,100 employees, lowering its headcount by 30%, citing broad financial issues and the consequences of the continuing crypto bear market.
9/ Most individuals don’t care and simply need to work, however they’ll’t be productive whereas triggered individuals hold dragging them in to debates and remedy classes. The reply for us was to simply lay out the tradition doc and say: agree and commit, disagree and commit, or take the money??
— Jesse Powell (@jespow) June 15, 2022Celsius CEO Alex MashinskyCelsius CEO Alex Mashinsky resigned as the top of the bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network in September.”I elected to resign my submit as CEO of Celsius Network as we speak,” stated Mashinsky in a statement. “Nevertheless, I’ll proceed to take care of my concentrate on working to assist the group unite behind a plan that can present the most effective final result for all collectors—which is what I’ve been doing for the reason that firm filed for chapter.”In his resignation, Mashinsky stated that his continued function as CEO had change into an growing distraction and that he’s sorry for the “troublesome monetary circumstances” confronted by the Celsius group. Mashinsky’s resignation got here two months after Celsius filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.Celsius’ troubles started after the corporate paused all customer withdrawals in June, citing liquidity points. This announcement prompted Alabama, Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington regulators to open investigations into the corporate.In September, Celsius co-founder Daniel Leon resigned from his role as chief technique officer of the embattled firm. While Leon left with 32,600 shares of Celsius inventory acquired in February 2018 and dividends, Financial Times uncovered that Mashinsky withdrew $10 million from the corporate’s account in May earlier than the platform halted person withdrawals.Parity Technologies CEO Gavin WoodGavin Wood, Ethereum co-founder and CEO of Polkadot maker Parity Technologies, stepped down from the role in October. Although Wood departed the CEO place, he stays Parity’s majority shareholder and chief architect.According to Bloomberg, Wood determined to step down as a result of serving as chief govt had restricted his capacity to pursue “everlasting happiness.” Polkadot’s DOT cryptocurrency is now down 92% from its November 2021 peak worth, outpacing the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum on that entrance.FTX CEO Sam Bankman-FriedOn November 11, one-time crypto icon Sam Bankman-Fried resigned as CEO of FTX as the corporate filed for Chapter 11 chapter.Bankman-Fried’s resignation got here almost every week after Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao stated on Twitter that the world’s largest cryptocurrency trade would liquidate its whole place in FTX’s FTT token. Just days later, Binance—which signed a non-binding letter of intent to accumulate FTX amid the liquidity crunch that ensued—stated it would not follow through after finishing due diligence. Binance was an early investor in FTX in 2019.
As a outcome of company due diligence, in addition to the most recent information experiences relating to mishandled buyer funds and alleged US company investigations, we’ve determined that we’ll not pursue the potential acquisition of https://t.co/FQ3MIG381f.
— Binance (@binance) November 9, 2022New FTX CEO John J. Ray III—who was introduced in to assist handle the chapter course of—has taken steps to distance FTX from its former leader, saying that Bankman-Fried doesn’t converse for the corporate and has no energetic function.Bankman-Fried has since been arrested and charged by U.S. federal prosecutors in addition to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), plus he’s been sued alongside FTX and Alameda by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). He was recently extradited from the Bahamas to the United States and launched from custody via a $250 million bond agreement.Alameda Research CEO Caroline EllisonCaroline Ellison, the remaining CEO of Alameda Research after the resignation of Sam Trabucco in August, was terminated from her place when FTX and a number of other of its subsidiaries, together with Alameda, filed for chapter in November.Ellison turned the main focus of media scrutiny not just for the questionable enterprise practices of Alameda Research and FTX, but additionally for a Tumblr blog that expressed views on polyamorous relationship dynamics and Race Science. Her relationship with Bankman-Fried has additionally come underneath scrutiny, not solely as a case of nepotism but additionally because the potential involvement of Ellison in FTX’s alleged monetary crimes.She has since flipped on her former ally and and lover, pleading guilty to charges from federal prosecutors and the SEC alike with plans to cooperate and supply info relating to Bankman-Fried and his firms’ alleged wrongdoing. Ellison reportedly instructed a choose that she knew what she was doing at Alameda was both wrong and illegal.Yuga Labs CEO Nicole MunizAfter the particularly dramatic entries above, the ultimate CEO transfer on this checklist is decidedly tame by comparability. Nicole Muniz, the primary CEO of Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs, stated that she will depart the role within the first half of 2023 to clear the way in which for a brand new chief govt, Daniel Alegre.Alegre joined after being President and COO of Activision Blizzard, the gaming large behind franchises like Call of Duty and Candy Crush Saga. The transfer signaled Yuga’s rising embrace of Web3 gaming with Otherside. Muniz will keep on as a accomplice and advisor after the transfer is accomplished. Yuga Labs raised $450 million at a $4 billion valuation in March.”I’m thrilled that we discovered Daniel to maintain up the momentum and convey his gaming experience to vastly bold tasks like Otherside,” she stated in a press release.Stay on prime of crypto information, get each day updates in your inbox.