TL;DR:
- Co-founder departure: Anton Bukov publicly confirmed his dismissal from 1inch, which occurred at the end of November 2025.
- New DeFi initiative: The developer announced the launch of Second Tier, a project focused on financial infrastructure.
- Operational continuity: The 1inch management team confirmed that the protocol maintains its normal operations and its roadmap remains unaltered.
Anton Bukov is no longer part of the development and operational structure of the decentralized exchange aggregator 1inch, as confirmed by the protocol’s team this Thursday.
We can confirm that Anton Bukov is no longer contributing to the 1inch project and has not been actively involved in any associated organizations since December 2025.
This does not affect the operation of 1inch Network or any associated organizations. The protocols,…
— 1inch (@1inch) July 16, 2026
The news became known through a post on X, where Bukov detailed that his dismissal was executed at the end of November 2025. The developer specified that, from that date onward, he ceased any type of participation in the firm’s product architecture, general operations, and security systems.
Shortly after this announcement, the organization behind 1inch confirmed that the specialist has not been involved in any of the associated entities since December 2025. The company emphasized that the ecosystem continues to function as usual.
Internal restructuring and future plans
Bukov, who participated in the founding of the aggregator in 2019, indicated that his main duties were linked to economic and security design. According to his statements, he led the creation of key tools such as the 1inch Router, the Fusion system, and cross-chain connectivity developments.
The co-founder stated that the feedback received from users prompted him to try to assume a role with greater weight in operational management. However, this move culminated in his definitive separation at the end of last year.
Despite not exercising executive functions, the engineer clarified that he maintains his status as a co-founder and owns 50% of the company’s shares.
In the same announcement, Bukov revealed the launch of Second Tier, a new platform oriented toward the creation of decentralized financial infrastructure that seeks to optimize efficiency and security in the crypto sector.
Operational impact under evaluation
The 1inch administration issued an institutional response assuring that the engineer’s departure does not compromise the stability of the network. According to the company’s statement, operations, basic infrastructure, and smart contracts continue their executions without recording interruptions.
Strategic control and the development of the protocol remain under the direction of the other co-founder, Sergej Kunz, along with the current executive team. The firm recognized the value of the historical work contributed by Bukov, although it chose not to issue specific comments regarding the terms of the dismissal.
The separation of the founders coincides with a period of technical reviews following security incidents reported in the ecosystem during 2025. In March of that year, a vulnerability in an old Fusion V1 contract generated losses estimated at $5 million dollars, funds that were partially recovered after negotiations with the attacker. Previously, in December 2024, a private key leak was recorded in a binding contract, events that management formally unlinked from the personnel changes.
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