High-profile Ethereum co-founder quits crypto over safety concerns

Ethereum co-founder Anthony Di Iorio has announced his intention to exit the crypto industry, expressing concerns over his personal safety.

According to a Saturday report from Bloomberg, Di Iorio is looking to sell his digital asset firm, Decentral, and sever ties with all other crypto projects he is currently involved with, stating that he no longer feels safe as a result of his elevated profile within the crypto sector:

“It’s got a risk profile that I am not too enthused about. I don’t feel necessarily safe in this space. If I was focused on larger problems, I think I’d be safer.”

Hailing from a background in web development, Di Iorio was among the eight co-founders who began working on Ethereum in 2014. He served as chief digital officer of the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2016 and has focused on venture capital investing and startup advising in recent years.

In 2016, the 48-year-old Canadian entrepreneur founded blockchain company Decentral, which operates Jaxx Liberty — a multi-platform cryptocurrency wallet that boasts a user base of more than 1 million.

Since 2017, Di Iorio has traveled with a security team. In 2018, Forbes estimated his net worth to be as much as $1 billion, featuring Di Iorio in its crypto rich list for the year. During the same year, Di Iorio was further cast into the limelight after buying the largest condo in Canada for $22 million and using crypto for part of the payment.

Di Iorio now expects to sell Decentraland for “hundreds of millions,” highlighting that he will only accept either cash or equity in another company for settlement and will not consider offers made in cryptocurrency.

The entrepreneur also emphasized that he does not wish to invest in blockchain startups moving forward.

Related: Anthony Di Iorio: At the Forefront of Canada’s Bitcoin Community

In a bid to find more philanthropic pursuits, Di Iorio has joined Project Arrow, which plans to build Canada’s first zero-emission vehicle, with the entrepreneur asserting that crypto can only assist with a small number of the world’s problems:

“I want to diversify to not being a crypto guy, but being a guy tackling complex problems. I will incorporate crypto when needed, but a lot of times, it’s not… It’s really a small percentage of what the world needs.”

Of Ethereum's eight co-founders, only Vitalik Buterin is still actively working on the blockchain platform.

Charles Hoskinson and Gavin Wood have started rival blockchains, namely Cardano and Polkadot, respectively. Mihai Alisie and Joeseph Lubin started firms to focus on Ethereum applications and development, launching Akasha Project and ConsenSys, respectively.

The remaining founders, Amir Chetrit and Jeffrey Wilcke, have made similar moves to Di Iorio by exiting crypto to focus on other industries.