In a recent revelation, controversial crypto entrepreneur Andre Cronje clarified his association with the Fantom project, stating that he never really left the foundation. This comes after a period of speculation and uncertainty surrounding his role at Fantom, which had significant impacts on the token’s price.
Between March and November 2022, Andre Cronje claimed to no longer be working at the Fantom Foundation. However, he now says this was purely for appearance’s sake. In an interview, Cronje stated, “My distance from Fantom was only from a public perspective. I was receiving so much bad press at that time that I thought it would negatively impact Fantom.”
Andre Cronje’s Continued Involvement with Fantom
Despite the public perception, Andre Cronje maintained that he has been working at the Fantom Foundation since 2019 as pretty much his full-time occupation. “You can chat to anyone in the organization, they all know I was still there, I was still working. I was still doing my day to day,” he added.
Cronje’s controversial testing practices have been a point of contention in the past. He is known for his tendency to “test in production” — that is, to put unaudited code live while he was building it. This approach has led to instances where crypto observers aped into his contracts on their own volition, before a bug or other issue caused them to lose their funds.
Andre Cronje’s decision to distance himself publicly from Fantom was driven by his concern about potential reputational damage. “I just thought it would do more reputational damage than harm,” he said about distancing himself from the project.
The Return to Public Association with Fantom
Cronje added that it was Fantom Foundation CEO Michael Kong who finally convinced him to make a public return. “And I finally caved after a few months of attrition and then just, you know, decided to admit. But that wasn’t actually a leave and back. It was just a public distancing, which at the time I thought was better for the project.”
Cronje’s clarification about his role at Fantom provides much-needed transparency for investors and the broader crypto community. His continued involvement with the project, despite public distancing, underscores his commitment to the Fantom Foundation and its mission.
