SushiSwap's CTO resigns amid infighting

SushiSwap CTO Joseph Delong has resigned from the decentralized exchange effective immediately. Delong tweeted the news on Wednesday.  

Delong's resignation comes amid growing tension within the SushiSwap team. Former team members claimed 0xMaki — a key developer who took over the project after founder Chef Nomi took and later returned funds intended for the project's development team — was forced out. At the time of his departure, 0xMaki's post indicated he himself was the driving force behind the decision, but team members claim this wasn't the case.

A leaked screenshot appeared to show Delong asking the SUSHI telegram group whether the project should ask Maki to leave. A non-core team member also claimed multiple other team members had exited following Maki's alleged dismissal.  For his part, Delong referred to these as "absurd defamation," though he admitted he did not see eye to eye with some former team members.

Delong threatened to quit if the community failed to support the current team. He threatened to leave if the community did not give the core team "the autonomy to continue operations, the capability to form leadership, and increase compensation across the board."

He also submitted a proposal to SushiSwap's governance system that all core team members save him should be compensated with 200,000 SUSHI, equivalent to $964,000, from the project's treasury. That proposal failed, to Delong's frustration. 

In response to the ongoing mudslinging, the SushiSwap team made a statement admitting there were mistakes made in team management given the challenges of operating through a decentralized structure. In his departure announcement, Delong said he recommended the installation of a C-suite from outside the DAO which would have the tools to effectively manage a team.

"Be wary of any self proclaimed leaders arising from the current core team," he wrote.

Delong said he is standing by to hand over accounts or information to the next selected leader.

"I wish Sushi the best and am saddened that Sushi is so imperiled within and without," tweeted Delong. "The chaos that is occurring now is unlikely to result in a resolution that will leave the DAO as much more of a shadow than it once was without a radical structural transformation."

He said he plans to take a month to spend time with his family before embarking on a new project.