Statement on My Resignation From the Sonic Labs Board

On June 19, 2026, Sonic Labs announced that Michael Kong, David Richardson, and I are resigning from the Sonic Labs board and will no longer make business decisions for the organization.

That announcement is accurate.

I am publishing this statement because some subsequent reporting and online commentary have blurred the distinction between my technical role and responsibility for every business, token, migration, and operational decision made by Fantom or Sonic Labs.

I understand why many holders and members of the community are disappointed or angry. This statement is not intended to dismiss those concerns. It is intended to ensure that the public record accurately distinguishes the work and decisions I led from those I did not.

Company formation and technical creation are different

Fantom and the original Fantom project existed before I joined. I began contributing in 2018, after formation, initially as a technical advisor. I was not appointed as a director of Fantom until 13 December 2022—more than four years after the company was incorporated on 7 June 2018.

Fantom existed as a company and token project before I joined, but the network technology had not yet been implemented in a viable form. My role in the technology was foundational: I originated the core technical architecture and, together with Quan Nguyen, led the development team that implemented the working Fantom network. I later led the design and development of the Sonic network, particularly Sonic Gateway.

I have sometimes used “co-founder” informally, including in public, to describe that foundational technical role. That shorthand was imprecise because it collapsed two different things: forming the company and creating the technology. I did not establish Fantom or originate the initial token, fundraising, or commercial project.

The accurate distinction is:

I was not a founder of the company or original token project. I was an originating technical architect of Fantom’s working network, and later a director of Fantom and Chief Technology Officer of Sonic Labs.

Describing me simply as a founder or co-founder, without distinguishing technical creation from company and token-project formation, is inaccurate.

The work I led

My principal mandate was technical.

Over the years, I advised and contributed to protocol research, architecture, engineering, developer infrastructure, and the establishment and direction of technical teams.

As Chief Technology Officer, I led the design and development of the Sonic network, particularly the Sonic Gateway.

I remain proud of that work and of the engineers who built the technology. I continue to believe that Sonic’s underlying technology is exceptional.

I accept responsibility for the technical work and decisions I led, as well as for the public statements I personally made.

Decisions I did not lead

My technical responsibilities should not be conflated with responsibility for every organizational or token-related initiative.

To state the relevant distinctions precisely:

• I did not design, lead, or execute the migration from FTM to S.
• I did not design or administer the Sonic airdrop.
• I did not create, control, or serve as the decision owner for Sonic’s tokenomics, including its token allocations, emissions, or incentive structures.
• I did not support decommissioning the Ethereum ERC-20 representation of FTM or winding down the Opera network. My position was that both should remain supported.

Serving as a director and Chief Technology Officer meant that I was aware of, and at times publicly communicated, broader organizational initiatives.

Awareness or communication should not be confused with authorship, control, decision ownership, or operational execution.

Accountability

This clarification is not an attempt to avoid accountability or assign blame to another individual.

Leadership carries responsibility, and I accept responsibility for the work and decisions I actually led.

At the same time, it is neither accurate nor reasonable to attribute every decision made by a multidisciplinary organization to its most publicly visible technical contributor.

The distinction matters:

I stand behind the technology and technical decisions I led. I was not the author or decision owner of the migration, airdrop, tokenomics, or legacy-network decisions described above.

Both statements can be true.

Going forward

Following the completion of this transition, I will no longer participate in business decisions at Sonic Labs.

For the past 18 months, my primary focus has been building Flying Tulip. I will continue that work.

I remain proud of the technology and wish the new leadership, the engineering team, and everyone continuing to build within the Sonic ecosystem success.

This page is my canonical statement concerning my role and departure. It will be updated only to add supporting documentation or correct a factual error. Any substantive changes will be recorded below.

Facts at a glance

Supporting public record

1. Leadership update from Sonic Labs — June 19, 2026
   Sonic Labs’ official announcement of the board resignations and leadership transition.

2. Andre Cronje — Chief Technology Officer of Sonic Labs — August 13, 2024
   Sonic Labs’ announcement describing my CTO role and responsibility for leading the design and development of the Sonic network, particularly Sonic Gateway.

3. Fantom Foundation summary of the Seoul High Court ruling on Fantom’s technical development — June 27, 2024
   The official summary reports that the court found Fantom established its own development team led by Andre Cronje and Quan Nguyen and that this team led the technical implementation of the Fantom project. The page links to the English translation of the judgment.

4. A statement from the Fantom Foundation — March 11, 2022
   Fantom Foundation’s prior statement describing my historical role as an advisor and distinguishing my individual contribution from the work of the wider technical team.

5. Fantom Insights Vol. 9 — October 7, 2018
   A contemporaneous Fantom publication identifying me as a technical advisor rather than a founder.

Media and corrections

Journalists may quote this statement with attribution and a link to this page.

For media inquiries or requests to correct the public record, contact:

andre@flyingtulip.com

Change log

June 19, 2026: Initial publication; subsequently updated to add the Fantom incorporation and director-appointment chronology, distinguish company formation from technical creation, explain prior informal use of “co-founder,” and clarify my continuing work on Flying Tulip.