1inch Co-founder Anton Bukov Leaves, Launches New Project Second Tier
Anton Bukov, co-founder of the decentralized exchange aggregator protocol 1inch, has announced his departure from the company's daily operations. Bukov, who was instrumental in designing core 1inch architectures like the Router, Fusion, and cross-chain Swap, ceased involvement in November 2025 due to strategic and leadership disagreements, though he retains his co-founder title and 50% equity stake.
Concurrently, Bukov unveiled his new venture, Second Tier (tier.xyz), describing it as infrastructure to "shorten the distance between economic intent and on-chain execution." He explicitly stated it is not a DEX or aggregator. The project's public-facing material is currently a manifesto criticizing systemic financial friction and advocating for building new architectural categories rather than competing within existing ones. No product details, team, or funding have been disclosed.
The split highlights a strategic divergence within 1inch. While CEO Sergej Kunz has steered the company toward traditional finance integration—evidenced by a 2025 brand refresh and a major Coinbase partnership—Bukov emphasized a commitment to decentralized, permissionless DeFi principles.
Bukov's exit coincides with a challenging period for 1inch. Q1 2026 data shows a 60.3% quarterly drop in its daily average trading volume to $97.1 million, underperforming the broader DEX aggregator market decline. Its market share fell from 25.2% to 17.0%, dropping it to fourth place among competitors.
Key questions remain regarding Bukov's future role as a major 1inch shareholder, the timeline for Second Tier's product development, and whether 1inch's institutional-focused strategy can reverse its declining trading metrics.
Foresight News07/17 03:59
