Ripple Labs director of engineering Nik Bougalis confirmed he will leave the company after almost a decade, becoming the latest of cryptocurrency’s long-serving executives to exit the sector.
“All good things…”
My decade-long journey at @Ripple has been a fantastic (if exhausting and all-consuming) one.
I got to work on a project that I love, towards a goal I believe in.
But that journey will be coming to an end in a few weeks.
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— ???? ???? ???? ???? (@nbougalis) October 21, 2022
He added he will not be joining a blockchain project or firm, nor will he venture into non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or decentralised finance.
Bougalis has a background in software engineering and cryptography, primarily working on open-source code projects for the payments XRP Ledger (XRPL) at Ripple.
He recently oversaw the XLS-20 amendment, which is expected to see the introduction of NFTs to XRPL.
The cryptographer insisted Ripple will do well without him, saying long-term success is not predicated on just one person.
“I’m confident that it will be just fine, thanks to talented and passionate individuals who contribute and participate, each in their own way,” Bougalis commented.
Several top figures left the blockchain sector in October, including NFT marketplace OpenSea’s chief financial officer.
Polkadot co-founder Gavin Wood, meanwhile, announced his exit from blockchain infrastructure firm Parity Technologies.
Other high-profile executives that followed the same route over the past few months include FTX US president Brett Harrison, Kraken chief executive (CEO) Jesse Powell, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor and Genesis Trading CEO Michael Moro.