Greatest CEO Exits in Crypto in 2022

The mass exodus began in 2022 when the cryptocurrency market began to fall. In 2022, plenty of well-known CEOs left their positions because the heads of crypto-focused firms, together with Sam Bankman-Fried of FTX, Alex Mashinsky of Celsius, Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy, and Jesse Powell of Kraken.

Completely different individuals describe completely different causes for leaving their positions, reminiscent of their firm going bankrupt, the cryptocurrency market’s volatility, or the company coming into a brand new part.

On account of the autumn of Terra, different companies, together with Three Arrows Capital, Voyager Digital, and FTX, went bankrupt and discontinued operations.

The management at different organizations began to crumble like dominoes however Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon refused to step down or stop and as a substitute fled overseas. Here’s a listing of a few of the best exits from this yr in chronological order.

Whitney Gibbs, CEO of Compass Mining

Because the cryptocurrency market collapsed in June, Compass Mining skilled its first important change when co-founder and CEO Whitney “Whit” Gibbs and Chief Finance Officer Jodie Fisher introduced their resignations.

Compass had drawn criticism for not paying the internet hosting and energy charges related to a facility in Maine owned by Dynamics Mining. Dynamics tweeted to Compass in June, “All you [had] to [do] was pay $250k for 3 months of energy use.”

The corporate acknowledged in response to the resignations that

Compass Mining was supposed to make mining straightforward and accessible. We acknowledge that that ambition has been hampered by a number of failures and disappointments.

CEO of Algorand Steven Kokinos

Algorand CEO Steven Kokinos left the enterprise that created the layer-1 blockchain platform of the identical identify in July, citing a need to pursue “different pursuits.” Sean Ford, the COO of Algorand, was promoted to function the corporate’s interim CEO after luring organizations like FIFA and Napster to construct on its platform.

Kokinos, who will proceed to work with Algorand as a senior advisor by means of mid-2023, is staying near dwelling. He acknowledged that he supposed to collaborate extra instantly with initiatives which are using the platform.

Michael Moro, CEO of Genesis Buying and selling

Crypto dealer Genesis suffered a number of setbacks in 2022, together with being the $2.36 billion largest creditor of the defunct Three Arrows Capital and being harmed by FTX’s failure. Following the Three Arrows revelations in August, CEO Michael Moro resigned.

Upon listening to the information, Moro remarked, “It has been an honor to guide Genesis for practically ten years, and I look ahead to supporting the corporate’s subsequent chapter of progress.” He stated that he would supply steering to the corporate throughout the transition.

On the identical time, Genesis introduced a 20% personnel discount and appointed COO Derar Islim as interim CEO. Because of the results of the FTX collapse, Genesis Buying and selling stopped all withdrawals from its lending arm in November. In line with reviews, Genesis is owned by the Digital Foreign money Group and owes Gemini Earn purchasers over $900 million along with different money owed.

Sam Trabucco, co-CEO of Alameda Analysis

Sam Trabucco, co-CEO of Alameda Analysis, resigned in August, citing a necessity for leisure. Caroline Ellison, co-CEO of Trabucco, remained Alameda’s solely CEO up till the corporate filed for chapter alongside FTX in November.

Trabucco defined his choice to depart Alameda by saying, “I personally can’t proceed to justify the time dedication of being a significant a part of Alameda.” Spending a “common” period of time at work is difficult—particularly should you’re making an attempt to be a frontrunner—as a result of everybody right here works actually onerous.

After all, with hindsight comes questions on Trabucco’s data of Alameda’s buying and selling losses this summer time and using FTX shopper funds to help shut the outlet in its steadiness sheet.

Final yr, when @SBF_FTX introduced that Caroline and I have been Alameda’s co-CEOs, the purpose for all concerned was to carry titles consistent with actuality — the 2 of us had been appearing as CEOs for fairly a while, and we wished our outdoors picture to mirror that.

— Sam Trabucco (@AlamedaTrabucco) August 24, 2022

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy

In August, prolific Bitcoiner Michael Saylor additionally resigned as CEO of cloud computing agency MicroStrategy. Saylor not serves as CEO of the agency he co-founded in 1989, though he does serve in a management capability as govt chairman.

Though cryptocurrency-related companies usually are not MicroStrategy’s major emphasis, the corporate has rapidly earned a status for having the best Bitcoin holdings of any publicly traded company. MicroStrategy acknowledged that as of December 28 it possessed round 132,500 BTC, which is equal to $2.2 billion in at present’s worth. However since 2020, the company has spent nearly $4 billion shopping for that BTC.

Saylor acknowledged that he’ll proceed to supervise its “bitcoin acquisition technique” when the change was introduced in August. He continued,

My purpose is advocating for and educating individuals about bitcoin, like by means of the Bitcoin Mining Council, and serving as a spokesperson and envoy to the worldwide bitcoin neighborhood

President of FTX USA Brett Harrison

Brett Harrison, the president of FTX US, abruptly resigned in September to tackle an advising position with the corporate. Harrison tweeted his resignation and acknowledged that he’ll proceed to work within the cryptocurrency sector.

In his publish, he acknowledged, “I’m staying within the enterprise with the goal of lowering technological hurdles to full participation in and maturation of worldwide crypto markets, each centralized and decentralized.

1/ An announcement: I’m stepping down as President of @FTX_Official. Over the following few months I’ll be transferring my obligations and shifting into an advisory position on the firm.

— Brett Harrison (@BrettHarrison88) September 27, 2022

He tried to sound upbeat, saying,”Till then, I’ll be serving to Sam [Bankman-Fried] and the crew with this transition to ensure FTX concludes the yr with all its trademark momentum.” FTX, who has asserted that it’s distinct from FTX US, filed for Chapter 11 chapter safety in November, regardless of Harrison’s confidence.

Harrison tweeted that he “had no private expertise with harmful, consequential treachery in my life till currently” when he commented on the FTX controversy in mid-December with out particularly referencing his former firm.

He continued, “I can solely pray God that sort of unhealthy, corrupting greed won’t ever be something I do know or acknowledge in myself. It’s venomous and evil. Harrison additionally expressed his pleasure for the launch of his new enterprise and his dedication to the sector.

CEO of Kraken, Jesse Powell

Jesse Powell, the CEO of Kraken, resigned in September. Powell claimed that as Kraken grew, managing the enterprise grew to become “much less enjoyable” and extra of a burden. He acknowledged his intention to proceed working with the enterprise he began in 2011.

When it took a robust stand towards what was characterised as “anti-woke” sentiment in June and urged personnel to focus on cryptocurrency fairly than cultural and variety points, Kraken sparked controversy. Powell proposed that any workers “triggered” by the mandate ought to depart the corporate in a hotly contested Twitter thread.

Kraken stated in November that it might lay off some 1,100 employees, or 30% of its workforce, citing basic financial issues and the results of the continued crypto bear market.

9/ Most individuals do not care and simply need to work, however they cannot be productive whereas triggered individuals preserve dragging them in to debates and remedy periods. 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, 2022

CEO of Celsius, Alex Mashinsky

In September, the CEO of the bancrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius Community, Alex Mashinsky, introduced his resignation.

In an announcement, Mashinsky acknowledged, “I opted to resign my job as CEO of Celsius Community at present. Nonetheless, as I’ve been doing for the reason that firm filed for chapter, I’ll preserve working to assist the neighborhood come collectively behind a plan that may give the perfect final result for all collectors.

In his letter of resignation, Mashinsky expressed remorse for the “powerful monetary circumstances” the Celsius neighborhood was experiencing and that his extended employment as CEO had grow to be an rising distraction. Two months after Celsius filed for Chapter 11 chapter, Mashinsky resigned.

Moments in the past, @CelsiusNetwork filed voluntary petitions for Chapter 11 safety and introduced that the corporate initiated a monetary restructuring. https://t.co/vf5wsT6TMp

— Celsius (@CelsiusNetwork) July 14, 2022

After halting all buyer withdrawals in June as a consequence of liquidity challenges, Celsius’ issues began. Regulators in Alabama, Kentucky, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington began trying into the company on account of this disclosure.

Daniel Leon, a co-founder of Celsius, left his place as chief technique officer of the troubled enterprise in September. Whereas Mashinsky took $10 million out of the corporate’s account in Might earlier than the platform stopped permitting person withdrawals, Leon left with 32,600 shares of Celsius inventory that he had acquired in February 2018 along with dividends, in keeping with the Monetary Instances.

The CEO of Parity Applied sciences, Gavin Wooden

In October, Gavin Wooden, a co-founder of Ethereum and the CEO of Polkadot producer Parity Applied sciences, introduced his resignation. Wooden remains to be Parity’s largest shareholder and chief architect whereas leaving the CEO publish.

Bloomberg claims that Wooden made the choice to resign as a result of his capability to pursue “final bliss” has been hampered by his position as CEO. The DOT cryptocurrency from Polkadot is already down 92% from its highest value in November 2021, outperforming different cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum in that regard.

Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of FTX

Sam Bankman-Fried, a former crypto star, resigned from his place as CEO of FTX on November 11 because the enterprise filed for Chapter 11 chapter.

Almost per week after Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao stated on Twitter that the biggest cryptocurrency change on this planet would liquidate all of its holdings in FTX’s FTT token, Bankman-Fried introduced his resignation. Days later, Binance introduced that it might not proceed with the acquisition of FTX regardless of having signed a non-binding letter of intent to take action within the midst of the following liquidity disaster. In 2019, Binance was a pioneering funding in FTX.

On account of company due diligence, in addition to the most recent information reviews concerning 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, 2022

Bankman-Fried has been separated from FTX by its new CEO John J. Ray III, who was appointed to assist deal with the chapter course of. Bankman-Fried not represents the group and performs no energetic position, in keeping with Ray.

Since then, Bankman-Fried has been detained and charged by each the Securities & Change Fee (SEC) and U.S. federal prosecutors. He has additionally been sued with FTX and Alameda by the U.S. Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC). He was simply freed on a $250 million bond after being extradited from the Bahamas to america.

Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda Analysis

After Sam Trabucco’s retirement from Alameda Analysis in August, Caroline Ellison remained as the corporate’s CEO till FTX and plenty of its subsidiaries, together with Alameda, filed for chapter in November.

Along with the doubtful enterprise actions of Alameda Analysis and FTX, Ellison got here below media investigation for a Tumblr weblog that mentioned polyamorous relationship dynamics and Race Science. Along with being an occasion of nepotism, her affiliation with Bankman-Fried has drawn consideration as a result of it raises the chance that Ellison was complicit in FTX’s alleged monetary wrongdoings.

Since then, she has turned on her former lover and ally, confessing to fees introduced by the SEC and federal prosecutors alike and promising to cooperate and disclose particulars about any alleged wrongdoing by Bankman-Fried and his companies. In line with reviews, Ellison admitted to the choose that she understood her actions at Alameda have been each improper and illegal.

CEO of Yuga Labs Nicole Muniz

The ultimate CEO motion on our listing is noticeably underwhelming compared to the very dramatic entries above. Yuga Labs’ preliminary CEO Nicole Muniz stated that she’s going to step down from her place within the first half of 2023 to make room for Daniel Alegre, who will take over as CEO. Nicole Muniz based Bored Ape Yacht Membership.

Alegre got here after serving as Activision Blizzard’s President and COO, the gaming behemoth that created video games like Sweet Crush Saga and Name of Obligation. The motion served as a logo of Yuga’s increasing assist for Web3 gaming with Otherside. After the switch is full, Muniz will proceed to function a associate and advisor. At a $4 billion worth, Yuga Labs acquired $450 million in March.

In an announcement, she added,

I’m completely happy that we discovered Daniel to hold up the momentum and lend his gaming data to enormously formidable initiatives like Otherside.

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