Ripple lead engineer steps down after decade at the company Ripple lead engineer steps down after decade at the company
Bougalis played an integral role in the development of XRP Ledger, and is currently overseeing the introduction of NFTs to the network.
2 min read
Updated: Oct. 24, 2022 at 12:00 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Ripple (XRP) Labs’ director of engineering Nik Bougalis has announced that he will leave the company after ten years in an Oct. 22 Twitter thread.
“All good things…”
My decade-long journey at @Ripple has been a fantastic (if exhausting and all-consuming) one.
I got to work on a project that I love, towards a goal I believe in.
But that journey will be coming to an end in a few weeks.
🧵
— 𝙽 𝙸 𝙺 𝙱 (@nbougalis) October 21, 2022
Bougalis stated that all good things must end, even if his decade-long stay at Ripple has been fantastic.
The cryptographer and software engineer who worked at Samsung before joining Ripple added that his departure in the coming weeks would not affect the XRP ledger.
“And what of the #XRPL? Its long-term health and success isn’t predicated on any one person. I’m confident that it will be just fine, thanks to talented and passionate individuals who contribute and participate, each in their own way.”
He continued that he would not join a rival blockchain project or get involved in DeFi and NFTs. According to him, his plans would be revealed later.
Bougalis’ long time at Ripple means he is one of those who played an integral in the development of the XRP Ledger.
He recently oversaw the XLS-20 amendment introducing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to XRPL. The proposal could come to life as early as Oct. 31 as the network validators are currently voting on it.
Meanwhile, Ripple Labs is still embroiled in a legal tussle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It recently scored a minor win with the regulator handing over former Director Hinman’s documents.
XRP is down 4.5% in the last seven days and is trading for $0.455 as of press time.
Top crypto execs continue to leave
Meanwhile, his exit marks another departure of high-profile personnel from a crypto company. This year, several top crypto executives and leading personnel have left their roles in light of the market situation.
Some of them include Celsius’ Alex Mashinsky, FTX US’ Brett Harrison, Kraken’s Jesse Powell, MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor, Parity Technologies’ Gavin Wood, OpenSea’s Brian Roberts, and Genesis Trading’s Michael Moro.
Mentioned in this article
XRP 
Ripple 
MicroStrategy 
Parity Technologies 
Celsius Network 
Kraken 
Michael Saylor 
Jesse Powell 
Alex Mashinsky 
Michael Moro 
Gavin Wood Author 
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The XRP Ledger is a decentralized cryptographic ledger powered by a network of peer-to-peer servers.
Ripple
Ripple is a US-based technology company which develops the Ripple payment protocol and exchange network using XRP, the digital asset native to the XRP Ledger.
MicroStrategy
MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) is a worldwide leader in enterprise analytics and mobility software.
Parity Technologies
Parity’s mission is to enable businesses and organisations to capitalise on blockchain technology and benefit from the new opportunities it presents.
Celsius Network
Celsius Network is a bankrupt cryptocurrency lending company that was founded in 2017 and headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Kraken
Kraken is a San Francisco-based digital asset exchange in euro volume and liquidity that trades various currencies, including Canadian dollars, US dollars, British pounds, and Japanese yen.
Michael Saylor is the Executive Chairman, founder, and principal shareholder of MicroStrategy.
Jesse Powell is an expert in virtual currencies, online/international payments and fraud, as well as co-founder and former CEO of Kraken, one of the most trusted and largest Bitcoin exchanges in the world with number one EUR market share.
Alex Mashinsky, born in 1965 in the Soviet Union to a Jewish family, moved to Israel in the 1970s.
Michael Moro is the CEO of Genesis Global Trading, an OTC market-maker of digital currency.
Gavin Wood is the former Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of the Ethereum Project.