What happened
Cryptocurrency Fantom (FTM -8.35%) is down 16% as of 1:25 p.m. ET Sunday following a tweet from Anton Nell that he and Andre Cronje are leaving the decentralized finance (crypto) industry. Cronje is a prolific coder who has done extensive work on Fantom, and Nell is -- or was -- the senior solutions architect for the Fantom Foundation. Several of the apps the pair of developers helped operate will also be shutting down.
So what
There's no ill-will or internal conflict driving the decision, for the record. Nell's tweet explains "this is not a knee jerk reaction to the hate received from releasing a project, but a decision that has been coming for a while now." Nevertheless, the crypto's response to the news underscores just how critical an individual can be to a cryptocurrency's value. That's especially true for a less liquid and less utilized crypto such as Fantom.
The Fantom Foundation itself is confident its platform will be able to continue on without Nell's and Cronje's involvement. In its own response tweet, the foundation points out "Fantom isn't and never was a one man team. There are 40+ people working at Fantom." The Fantom Foundation's Twitter account goes on to add, "Therefore, the development of Fantom won't be impacted by Andre's decision."
The cryptocurrency market, however, isn't so sure Fantom has a bright future without Cronje and Nell in it.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
The Fantom Foundation is right, by the way. While Nell and Cronje may have been instrumental in getting Fantom and the foundation up and running, that groundwork has already been fully laid. Their presence is no longer necessary. Their greatest value to the organization going forward was as spokespeople and advocates.
Still, a sharp sell-off stemming from the exit of two developers after the development work has been done indicates the sort of vulnerability that most investors would be wise to avoid... if at all possible. This unpredictable volatility may eventually pass, but in a crypto arena that's getting crowded, Fantom may not be worth that wait. Would-be buyers would be better served by looking for other opportunities available right now.
