In a Twitter thread posted on Jan. 25, Duncan Cock Foster and Griffin Cock Foster, co-founders of nonfungible token (NFT) auction platform Nifty Gateway, announced their resignations effective immediately. In supporting the decision, Duncan said they were leaving because “Griffin and I are founders at heart, and we want to start another company.”
“When @Gemini acquired NG in 2019, Griffin and I said if everything went amazing and we loved it, we would stay for 4 years before starting another company. We ended up staying the max amount of time we originally thought possible, which shows how great this experience was!”
The move comes amid a legal battle between Nifty Gateway’s parent company, Gemini, and bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global. Gemini alleges that the latter owes its users $900 million as part of its Gemini Earn program after Genesis Global halted withdrawals due to “unprecedented market conditions” in November 2020.
Some news – after almost 4 years, @gcockfoster and I are departing @gemini and are passing the baton at @niftygateway.
This journey has been an incredible ride, but Griffin and I are founders at heart and we want to start another company.
w/ some thoughts below:
– duncancockfoster.eth | Nifty Gateway (@dccockfoster) January 25, 2023
Nifty Gateway was founded in 2018 and acquired by Gemini in 2019. Despite tough business conditions at the parent company, Duncan said they’ve been “preparing for this transition for months” and that Nifty Gateway “is in good hands.” He wrote, “Cameron [Winklevoss] and Tyler Winklevoss are visionaries who saw the potential in NFTs well before almost anyone else. Under their leadership, Nifty Gateway will continue to thrive.” As part of the transition, Eddie Ma will take over as “technical leader” for Nifty Gateway, while Tara Harris will step in as “leader” for non-tech.
“We know that transitions can create uncertainty around the future. To that end, in the coming weeks, we will publicly outline a roadmap and a plan for the future of Nifty. After we depart we will stay connected to the mission in an advisory role to ensure continuity.”