departure

Cindy Leow, co-founder of the Solana perpetual contract exchange Drift (now Velocity), stated thatVelocity has completed audits with OtterSec and Asymmetric Research this week and is fully open-sourced, with the exchange restarting today.At the same time, as the exchange restarts and enters the next phase, she will step down. Previously, ChainCatcher reported on April 1 that Velocity was hacked by North Korean hackers due to a security vulnerability, resulting in a theft of $295 million.

Former Sonic CEO Michael Kong posted a response to Sonic Labs' recent statement of "immediate termination of cooperation." He stated that the company still sought his assistance on the same day and expressed hope for his well-being, but the announcement did not specify the reason, leading to the misleading impression that "he may have been dismissed due to misconduct." Kong indicated that this departure was not voluntary; after working at Fantom/Sonic for over eight years, he negotiated and signed a severance and release agreement with Sonic Labs and its affiliates.Kong mentioned that for the past two and a half months, Sonic Labs repeatedly promised to fulfill the agreement but is currently refusing to do so, and the existing contractual agreements have also not been honored. The release agreement stipulates that both parties shall not publicly disparage each other, yet matters that should have been handled internally were made public by Sonic Labs, causing damage, which is why he chose to respond publicly. He noted that he had almost single-handedly won the company a lawsuit in South Korea worth approximately $150 million, which was described as one of the largest cryptocurrency disputes in South Korea, and cited a written evaluation from David Richardson, the owner of Fantom and Sonic, stating that his work should be appreciated by the foundation.Kong stated that he reserves all rights to make any claims against Sonic Labs and its affiliates.

Cryptocurrency venture capital firm Dragonfly partner [Omar Kanji](https://www.rootdata.com/zh/member/Omar Kanji?k=MTg0NjA=) stated that after 4 years, today is his last day at Dragonfly. Omar thanked Rob Hadick, Haseeb Qureshi, Feng Bo, and Tom Schmidt, and expressed gratitude to his colleagues and co-founders, stating that he is excited about the next steps, with more news to be announced later.

Citrini analyst Jukan shared content on platform X stating that industry insiders reported that Google DeepMind co-founder Demis Hassabis had previously planned to leave simultaneously with another co-founder, David Silver. However, Google management was concerned that this news could trigger a significant drop in stock prices, so they hoped to delay his departure. Reports indicate that after Google announced related adjustments, the company's stock did indeed decline. Ultimately, Hassabis was persuaded to take on the role of chairman of DeepMind to help facilitate a smooth transition and create space for a more appropriate departure from Google in the future.It is reported that as David Silver shifts to founding Ineffable Intelligence and John Jumper joins Anthropic, the core AI research and development force at DeepMind is undergoing changes. Some insiders believe that the center of gravity for AI model development at Google has now shifted more towards the Bay Area, leading to a decline in the importance of DeepMind. Internally, Google is focusing on the large language model Gemini to catch up with OpenAI and Anthropic. Hassabis's adjustment reflects a long-standing strategic contradiction within Google: researchers are more focused on long-term scientific breakthroughs, while the commercial team is more concerned with AI products that can be quickly commercialized to drive revenue and stock price growth. Market predictions suggest that Hassabis may leave Google within a year and could potentially start a new venture.

OpenSea Chief Marketing Officer Adam Hollander announced on the X platform that he will be leaving after a year and a half in his position this week. He stated that this decision is "more personal than professional" and emphasized his confidence in the company's direction, products, and team, clarifying that he is not leaving due to another job opportunity, but plans to focus on health, family, and personal life moving forward.OpenSea co-founder and CEO Devin Finzer responded, saying "I’m glad to have fought alongside you," and noted that the team will continue to communicate openly with the community. Hollander joined OpenSea in early 2025.

Connor Fitzgerald, the head of partnerships at payment company Stripe, tweeted that he has stepped down this week.During his tenure, Connor Fitzgerald facilitated partnerships between Stripe and companies like Visa, supporting wallet/fintech companies in issuing Visa cards backed by stablecoins.

According to an announcement made by Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal on social media on July 10, after serving for 6 years, he will officially step down from his current position at the end of this month. After leaving, he will transition to a company advisor and continue to serve as a board member of Coinbase National Trust Company. In his statement, he reflected on several core achievements during his tenure, including assisting the company in successfully going public, winning a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), facilitating the relocation of the company's registered office from Delaware to Texas, and participating in the legislative work for the GENIUS and CLARITY bills.With Grewal's departure, Coinbase's legal and policy team also underwent personnel adjustments. Molly Abraham will succeed him as General Counsel, taking over the company's core legal affairs; Ryan Van Grack will take on a new role as Vice Chair, primarily responsible for coordinating global government and partner relations; meanwhile, Faryar Shirzad will continue to lead the global policy team, advancing the regulatory and policy environment for cryptocurrency and the company worldwide.

Sophia Dew, a member of the Ethereum Foundation (EF) Developer Acceleration team, announced in a post that this week will be her last week working full-time for the Ethereum Foundation. Dew has been active in the Ethereum ecosystem for the past four years and has participated in projects such as Funding Commons, Gitcoin, and Celo.She stated that after leaving, she will continue to promote the vision of Ethereum and cryptocurrency technology in other ways, and she clearly expressed her continued optimism about the future development of Ethereum.

Senior Partner at Polychain, Josh Rosenthal, posted on X platform, "After nearly 5 years at Polychain Capital, I have decided to leave. I feel fortunate to have witnessed the birth and growth of some companies that defined the cryptocurrency industry up close, for which I will always be grateful. I am now embarking on a new venture and look forward to sharing more information in the near future."

ChainCatcher, regarding the incident of OKX employees leaving to join Binance, OKX founder Star tweeted that over the past few years, many excellent OKX colleagues have joined other companies in the industry, including Yuki. We are proud of them for gaining recognition and favor from competitors, and we sincerely wish them success in their future development.OKX has hundreds of former employees from BN, including regional CEOs, product leaders, technical leaders, and many outstanding business and functional colleagues. They have brought valuable experience, perspectives, and input to OKX and have made significant contributions to the company's development. More importantly, they have deeply integrated with the OKX team and become part of OKX's culture and success. We have never treated this matter as marketing material to hype up.Talent mobility within the industry is a normal phenomenon and a sign of industry maturity. What truly matters is not where people come from, but whether they can continuously create value. Of course, for the very few who violate laws, business integrity, and professional ethics, we will take resolute measures and legally protect the company's legitimate rights and interests."A company that constantly talks about its vision, where the founder even in writing a book does not forget to heavily belittle former employees including the former CFO and former Asia head, is often the one with the least vision," Star said.Previously, according to RootData, former VIP account manager of OKX Yuki left to join Binance as a key account manager, sparking discussions among many crypto KOLs such as KuaiDong.

According to CoinDesk, the Ethereum Foundation is facing scrutiny over a new wave of departures. On Monday, prominent contributors Carl Beek and Julian Ma announced their departure from the foundation, further intensifying community concerns about staff turnover.In recent months, several core researchers and protocol coordinators, including Barnabé Monnot, Tim Beiko, Trent Van Epps, and Alex Stokes, have left or stepped back. Additionally, co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak, who joined in 2025, also left earlier this year.Reports indicate that this wave of departures occurred after the Ethereum Foundation released a new mission statement earlier this year. The statement attempts to redefine the foundation's role in the ecosystem, emphasizing that it is not the "owner" or central authority of Ethereum, but rather one of many supporters.

Binance's Chief Marketing Officer Rachel Conlan announced that she will be leaving next month, concluding her three-year brand-building work, with her last working day on June 15. After her departure, she will assist in the transition as an advisor. Binance stated that former Trust Wallet CEO Eowyn Chen will serve as the interim CMO, responsible for market and brand management during the transition period.

Trent.eth, a member of the Ethereum Foundation, posted on the X platform stating that he is no longer serving at EF as of last Friday. He expressed respect for the partnership with the team over the past five years in network upgrades and funding support work.Trent Van Epps also stated that he will continue to participate in the Protocol Guild and work related to the political economy of Ethereum as long as funding allows.

According to a social media disclosure by Dana Hou, an investment partner at YZI Labs, she has concluded her nearly four-year tenure at YZI Labs (formerly Binance Labs).In her farewell letter, Dana Hou reflected on four major highlights of her work: collaborating and learning alongside partners such as CZ and He Yi; supporting multiple teams including Pendle, Ethena, and Particle Network; facilitating the integration of the Jackson team into Binance Wallet; and working with several talented investors.Dana Hou stated that her belief in the crypto industry remains unchanged, asserting that Bitcoin is still a store of value, cryptocurrencies as an asset class will continue to exist, and blockchain as an open and borderless infrastructure will provide more efficient financial channels and universally accessible on-chain asset services. She expressed her intention to continue monitoring industry developments and firmly believes that "blockchain can function and thrive without permission."It is reported that before joining Binance, Dana Hou worked at Alibaba and Kuaishou, and was also a macro strategist at Goldman Sachs.

According to market news, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is considering stepping down before her term ends in October 2027, so that French President Macron and German Chancellor Merz can reach an agreement on her successor before the French elections in April 2027.A spokesperson for the European Central Bank later responded that Lagarde is "fully focused on her mission and has not made any decisions regarding the end of her term." Lagarde's potential early departure comes at a critical time for the advancement of the digital euro by the European Central Bank. Under her leadership, the European Central Bank has been continuously advancing the preparations for the digital euro and has repeatedly emphasized the need to manage the risks of private digital currencies such as stablecoins within the framework of the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation.Lagarde herself has long held a critical stance towards cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, describing them as "highly speculative," "worthless," and "not backed by any underlying assets." If there is a change in the leadership of the European Central Bank, it could affect the institution's communication focus and priorities regarding the digital euro, stablecoin regulation, and crypto-related payment arrangements, although the overall regulatory direction has already been established at the EU level.

a16z Crypto partner Arianna Simpson announced on the X platform that she is leaving the renowned crypto investment firm to establish a new fund, aiming to expand her investment scope and cover various verticals. She especially thanked a16z Crypto founder and managing partner Chris Dixon for his long-term guidance, stating that his investment framework will continue to influence her career.According to Chris Dixon's response, Arianna Simpson is an early supporter of cryptocurrency, has experience founding a cryptocurrency fund, and has worked at a16z Crypto for six years, making several successful investments.

According to Decrypt, Etherealize co-founder Danny Ryan stated that the crypto industry needs to "prove its worth" before Trump leaves office to avoid facing policy reversals after future government changes.He pointed out that the current U.S. government is pushing for legislation and regulatory improvements that support crypto, but this environment will not last forever. Therefore, the industry should expedite the implementation of systems and integration with capital markets.Ryan mentioned that if crypto cannot demonstrate its practical use during the current administration, future political forces may reevaluate the policy support. He emphasized that now is the industry's "window of opportunity" to make crypto a part of the financial system, rather than waiting for political changes to bring uncertainty.