1inch co-founder Anton Bukov was fired in late November and is launching a new infrastructure startup called Second Tier.
DeFi & Yields ·
Anton Bukov, who co-founded the decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch, announced in late November that he had departed the project and is launching an infrastructure startup called Second Tier. Bukov characterized the split as a firing, though 1inch disputed this characterization, stating he was not a direct employee and therefore could not be terminated in that capacity. The company said Bukov ceased active involvement in December 2025, a month after his stated timeline, and acknowledged his contributions to protocol architecture and security as part of a broader team rather than as the sole lead.
The two sides diverge on the underlying cause of the separation. Bukov indicated that after months of advocating for changes to leadership and operational practices, he was removed from the company. 1inch maintained that the exit reflects no operational disruption, with co-founder and Chief Executive Sergej Kunz and existing leadership remaining in place and the protocol continuing to function normally. The rift also reflects differing strategic visions: 1inch has pursued institutional and traditional finance partnerships over the past year, while Bukov has expressed a preference for building financial infrastructure without intermediaries.
Bukov retains the status of co-founder and 50% shareholder but holds no operational role. 1inch processed approximately $2.7 billion in trades over the prior 30 days, a substantial decline from roughly $14 billion monthly in mid-2025, when it ranked as the second-largest DEX aggregator. The 1INCH token, valued at approximately $104 million, showed minimal price movement ahead of the announcement.