On November 14, Zubin Koticha and Alexis Gauba, the co-founders of Opyn, an Ethereum-based options trading platform, announced their decision to exit their project and leave the crypto industry altogether.
Zubin Koticha, co-founder of Opyn, wrote:
“Hey Crypto Twitter… This is a tough one. Following the regulatory action against Opyn, [co-founder Alexis Gauba] and I have made the decision that we are leaving crypto. This is honestly very emotional for me and Alexis.
Koticha’s statement cited the recent regulatory actions by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as the main reason for his and Gauba’s resignation and exit from the crypto industry.
The CFTC filed a complaint on September 7 and simultaneously settled with three DeFi platforms, including Opyn. It was alleged that Opyn failed to register under various rules and requirements and failed to implement a customer identification program in accordance with the Bank Secrecy Act. The regulator also said Opyn illegally offered leveraged and margin commodity trades involving digital assets.
It is unclear whether Koticha and Gauba were directly involved, as the CFTC did not name any individuals involved in the company in its indictments.
Koticha said Andrew J. Keone, head of research at Opyn, will serve as the company’s CEO going forward. He highlighted Keone’s history as an MIT engineer and experience as a Wall Street trader, describing him as a de facto third co-founder.
Co-founders had an extensive crypto presence
The two co-founders of Opyn have had a broader presence in crypto since 2017. Koticha’s LinkedIn page indicates that he is also the co-founder of Mechanism Labs, a blockchain research lab. He was also involved in the blockchain project ThunderCore and the blockchain department of the University of California Berkeley.
Gauba also held positions in the three locations mentioned above. She is also the co-founder of she256, a blockchain diversity and education nonprofit.
Koticha and Gauba have stated that they have a new project in the works, which appears to be unrelated to cryptocurrency given their departure from the industry.