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SEC's Relentless Pursuit Drives DeFi Pioneer Cronje Out

Coin WorldTuesday, Jan 28, 2025 7:36 pm ET

1min read

Sonic Founder Andre Cronje Reveals Years of SEC Harassment

Andre Cronje, the founder of Sonic (formerly Fantom), has recently shared his experiences with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), detailing years of harassment that ultimately led to his departure from the DeFi space in 2022. In a blog post, Cronje described an aggressive campaign by the SEC that began with simple inquiries and escalated over time, eventually driving him out of the industry.

Cronje's troubles with the SEC started with a series of letters asking basic questions about his project, such as who was investing and who was profiting. However, these requests quickly escalated, with the SEC pivoting to new angles of attack and investigating Cronje from various perspectives, including a raise and potential SEC violations. The relentless pursuit of information and the drain on Cronje's time, energy, and resources ultimately forced him to stop development and leave the industry.

After enduring two years of what he termed "SEC persecution," Cronje gave up on developing open-source projects for the public good. However, his addiction to the space led him to continue working tirelessly in the background, supporting other projects and preparing to release new primitives. With the projected shift in regulatory climate in 2025, following Gary Gensler's resignation, the SEC appears to be adopting a more crypto-friendly stance, encouraging Cronje to reveal his ongoing narrative.

Cronje's experience serves as a stark reminder of the real regulatory challenges faced within the crypto industry under Gensler's leadership. While some community members may have downplayed incidents like Operation Choke Point 2.0, these events remain crucial parts of crypto's history. The SEC's relentless pursuit aimed to drive Andre Cronje out of the DeFi arena, but the crypto community's resilience has proven effective in overcoming such pressures.

As Cronje prepares for a potential return to the public eye in a more favorable regulatory environment, his experience serves as a case study of the delicate balance between innovation and regulation in the crypto sector. With the landscape improving, the outlook for DeFi developers could be getting brighter, promoting a healthier relationship between regulators and innovators.

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