Ross Nicoll, one of the primary developers behind dogecoin, said he will be stepping back from his work on the meme-based cryptocurrency, citing the stress the has come with working on the coin that soared in popularity over the last few years.
“I am going to be stepping away from Dogecoin, for a number of reasons. Primarily the stress involved is overwhelming and I need to step back to focus on myself for a period,” Nicoll said in a blog post Wednesday.
He also said there’s “further complication” in that his employer is moving into the blockchain space, which could stoke the risk of conflict of interest if he were to remain as director of the Dogecoin Foundation. Nicoll reportedly works at Alphabet’s Google as a software engineer.
“I’m handing over everything I can to the Dogecoin Foundation. I will be remaining as an advisor to the Foundation, to enable transition,” he wrote.
Palmer, for his part, has completely disavowed doge and crypto, stating in a twitter thread last year that he would never return to the industry and slamming the space as rife with shady business dealings and pay-to-play schemes.
In stepping back, Nicoll also cited “further complication” in that his employer is moving into the blockchain space, which could stoke the risk of conflict of interest if he were to remain as director of the Dogecoin Foundation. Nicoll reportedly works at Alphabet’s Google as a software engineer.
Nicoll said he’s been working on defending dogecoin from uninvolved parties registering trademarks. He said he has “confidence” in his dogecoin colleagues “to steer Dogecoin into the next phase, in a way that I do not have the mindset for.”
