Andre Cronje, the widely-known Defi developer, has revealed that he never really left the Fantom Foundation, despite previously stating otherwise. The news is causing quite a stir in the crypto industry, as it contradicts his previous claims of distancing himself from the project in March 2022.
In an interview on The Scoop podcast, Cronje clarified that his proclaimed departure from Fantom was merely a public facade. The crypto entrepreneur stated,
“My distance from Fantom was only from a public perspective. I was receiving so much bad press at that time that I thought it would negatively impact Fantom.“
Cronje, known for his controversial approach to testing in production, i.e., running unaudited code live, has been involved with Fantom since 2019. His supposed exit from the project in March 2022 was followed by a significant drop in the price of FTM.
Cronje’s ‘testing in production’ practices have sparked numerous criticisms in the past, as crypto enthusiasts often invested in his contracts, only to lose their funds due to bugs or other unforeseen issues.
Discussing his decision to distance himself from Fantom, Cronje explained,
“I just thought it would do more reputational damage than harm.”
According to Cronje, it was Fantom Foundation’s CEO, Michael Kong, who persuaded him to publicly admit his ongoing involvement with the project. Cronje noted, “I finally caved after a few months of attrition and then just, you know, decided to admit. But that wasn’t actually a leave and back. It was just a public distancing, which at the time I thought was better for the project.”
The news of Cronje’s continuous involvement with Fantom saw a sharp 20% rise in the token’s value in early November. The crypto community is closely monitoring the unfolding events and the potential impact of this revelation on the future of Fantom.
The recent development comes in the wake of Cronje’s involvement with another project, Multichain, which suffered a significant hack resulting in the loss of $126 million worth of assets. Cronje commented on the incident, acknowledging that the team was exploring recovery options and taking measures to restore users’ assets and trust in the protocol.
Link to Multichain Hack: Click here to read this news
In light of Andre Cronje’s clarification and renewed commitment to Fantom Foundation, the crypto community awaits further updates on the project’s development and future contributions from the controversial entrepreneur.