Zubin Koticha and Alexis Gauba, two founders of the Opyn decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, are stepping down from the project and “leaving crypto,” according to a statement from Koticha posted to social media on Nov. 14. The statement comes approximately two months after Opyn settled an enforcement action against it from the United States Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
Hey Crypto Twitter,
It’s been a while
This one’s a tough one…
After the regulatory action against Opyn, @alexisgauba and I have made the decision that we are leaving crypto.
This is honestly really emotional for me and Alexis.
In his statement, Koticha claimed that the decision was “really emotional” for them. “We thought we were going to be in crypto for the rest of our lives,” Koticha explained. “But unfortunately and unexpectedly, this is the end of the road.” According to him, Opyn will continue under the leadership of its head of research, Andrew Leone, who is being promoted to CEO.
Koticha hinted that the two executives will be working on a new project, stating, “As for me and Alexis – we got something new for y’all very soon.” However, this new project will not be crypto-related, as the two “have made the decision that we are leaving crypto.”
Gauba shared Koticha’s post from her own account, commenting, “Always thought I’d be building in crypto for the rest of my life, so it’s really sad to be leaving.”
Opyn is an options trading platform that runs on the Ethereum network. Its development team is headquartered in San Francisco, California. On Sept. 7, the CFTC announced that it was simultaneously issuing and settling an enforcement action against Opyn and two other DeFi teams for allegedly operating an unregistered derivatives exchange. Opyn was ordered to pay a civil monetary penalty of $250,000 and “cease and desist” from violating U.S. commodities trading laws. Attempting to open the Opyn interface from a U.S. IP address now produces a “blocked” error page, and this redirection persists even when using many offshore VPN addresses.
The CFTC action against Opyn was controversial even within the commission itself, as Commissioner Summer Mersinger wrote a dissenting opinion claiming that the enforcement action should not have been taken.
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.
The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.
She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.
In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.
“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.
Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
More from Politics
Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.
She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.
“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.
“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”
Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.
Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.
Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.