One recent development in the decentralized finance sector has involved significant leadership changes at 1inch, a company recognized for pioneering innovations in decentralized exchanges. Anton Bukov, co-founder of 1inch and a crucial architect of its protocol, has been removed from his operational role. Although he still retains his co-founder title and holds a 50% stake in the business, he no longer participates in the company’s daily operations.
This news emerged on July 16, 2026, amidst a troubling period for 1inch. The platform’s monthly trading volume has sharply diminished from an impressive $14 billion in mid-2025 to around $2.7 billion recently. This drop highlights ongoing concerns within the platform and the broader decentralized exchange landscape.
What is Anton Bukov planning next? Anton Bukov is currently establishing a new startup called Second Tier, designed to enhance the security and efficiency of financial systems. He emphasizes that this venture is not intended to compete with 1inch and is still in its early stages, lacking any public funding or product launches at present.
Over the past few months, 1inch has adopted a new strategy under CEO Sergej Kunz, focusing on integrating traditional finance and courting institutional clients. The firm has engaged in partnerships with major centralized financial entities, including a strategic collaboration with Coinbase, positioning itself more broadly within the financial sector than its original DeFi-focused foundation. Bukov’s earlier vision focused on minimizing intermediaries in financial transactions, a philosophy that significantly influenced the creation of 1inch itself.
The market response to Bukov's departure has been relatively muted. The 1INCH token was trading around $0.07 at the time of the announcement, reflecting a market capitalization close to $105 million, and it experienced a slight decrease of approximately 1% following the news.
For investors, the key issues to monitor include whether trading volumes stabilize or continue their downward trend, how institutional partnerships affect revenue, and the potential customer base for Bukov’s Second Tier. Additionally, with Bukov holding a significant ownership stake without an operational role, it presents an intriguing governance question. So far, he has not expressed any intentions to sell his shares or take any shareholder actions, which bears implications for the company’s future.