Wonderland's co-founder Daniele Sestagalli has now asked Michael Patryn to step down from this position — and admitted that he had known about his past for a month.
A co-founder of the doomed crypto exchange QuadrigaCX has been helping to run a decentralized finance protocol.
Michael Patryn had also previously pleaded guilty to credit card fraud, burglary, grand larceny and computer fraud — and had spent 18 months in U.S. federal prison.
It has now emerged that he is 0xSifu, and was serving as the treasury manager for Wonderland, which is based on the Avalanche blockchain.
Wonderland's co-founder Daniele Sestagalli has now asked him to step down from this position — and admitted that he had known about Patryn's past for a month, writing in a blog post:
"I am of the opinion of giving second chances, as I have mentioned on Twitter. I’ve seen the community very divided about my choice of maintaining him as the treasury manager after finding out who he was and his past."
With Sestagalli facing criticism for allowing Patryn to be involved with the project in the first place, the co-founder conceded that he "made a mistake, got blinded and I am sorry for that" — but argues that this shouldn't be the end for Wonderland:
"I have spoken a lot with various people, some people said Wonderland should just be wound down and funds be given back to token holders, although this is an option, I believe this is the easy way out."
Sestagelli is now inviting the community to decide whether an Investment DAO should be established — or whether the DeFi protocol should be discontinued altogether. Preparations are being made to return funds to investors, but the co-founder says he is also prepared "to bring someone new and experienced on to manage the treasury."
The bombshell has wreaked havoc on the value of Wonderland's token TIME, which has plunged by 15% in the past 24 hours.
QuadrigaCX: A Reminder
QuadrigaCX was a Canadian exchange that collapsed after its founder Gerald Cotten died on his honeymoon in India — reportedly from complications related to Crohn's disease. It later emerged that $190 million in crypto that belonged to its users was missing.
It was worth noting that Patryn left the trading platform back in 2016, and that he hasn't been accused of wrongdoing when it comes to the company's collapse.
Sestagalli has stressed that the funds held by Wonderland are in a wallet that requires multiple signatures to access.
