Kanav Kariya, the President of Jump Crypto, a subsidiary of Jump Trading focusing on digital assets, has announced he’s leaving his post. This news surges amid speculation regarding an ongoing inquiry by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) into Jump Crypto. Kariya voiced plans to dedicate attention to personal relationships and reading in the short term while exploring opportunities for his next career move. During his tenure at Jump Crypto, Kariya described the experience as “eventful.”
Jump Crypto drew public attention when it fell victim to a cyberattack in February 2022, with 120,000 wrapped Ethereum tokens (wETH) falsely minted via the Wormhole bridge. To address this, Jump Crypto deposited an equivalent quantity of Ether tokens, valued at $321 million during the incident, as restitution for the damages incurred. Jump Crypto, having oversight of the Wormhole bridge’s development, accepted liability for the breach.
By May of the same year, Jump Crypto was also implicated in the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. The firm was accused of profiting $1.3 billion by allegedly manipulating the price of Terra’s UST in collaboration with Terra’s founder, Do Kwon. The goal was reportedly to maintain the algorithmic stablecoin’s U.S. dollar peg. Allegations also claimed the firm obtained LUNA tokens at deep discounts, often 99% less than market price, as compensation for supporting UST and the Terra ecosystem.
Speculations about Jump Crypto’s exposure to FTX arose later that year, resulting in company representatives stepping forward to reassure investors that Jump Crypto was in no danger of closing and maintained a robust financial position.
Reports suggest that the CFTC’s investigation could be related to issues highlighted in both the investor lawsuit and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against Terraform Labs. However, the exact outlines of this investigation are currently unknown. It’s important to clarify that the ongoing CFTC investigation does not imply Jump Crypto has been found guilty of misconduct, with the investigating body yet to make any official declarations.