Key Takeaways:
- Anton Bukov fired from 1inch in November 2025, retains 50% ownership
- He is launching Second Tier, a DeFi infrastructure startup
- 1inch monthly volumes fell 81% to $2.7 billion from $14 billion
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1inch co-founder fired, launches Second Tier as volumes drop 81%
1inch co-founder Anton Bukov, who owns 50% of the company, said he was fired in November and is launching a DeFi infrastructure startup called Second Tier.
Bukov, who led 1inch's protocol architecture and security, disclosed the split in a statement shared with The Defiant. He said he remains a co-founder and 50% shareholder but no longer takes part in the company's operations, including oversight of product architecture and security.
1inch routed about $2.7 billion in trades over the past 30 days, down from roughly $14 billion a month in mid-2025, according to DefiLlama. The 1INCH token, with a market value of about $104 million, slipped about 1% over 24 hours and trades more than 99% below its 2021 peak.
The split surfaces a strategic divide as 1inch has leaned into traditional finance while Bukov said he wants to build a financial system with no friction and no middlemen. Second Tier has no disclosed funding, no named team and no live product.
Bukov said the experience left him with one lesson: "the long-term success of any project stands on two pillars of equal weight — technical excellence and leadership grounded in values that hold under pressure." He described the outcome as a "mature founder split" driven by disagreements about strategic direction, communication and leadership approach, rather than any single decision.
1inch has spent the past year courting institutions. The company integrated its swap engine into the Coinbase app in October, its largest U.S. client, and used a rebrand the same month to signal a pitch to institutions. Co-founder and Chief Executive Sergej Kunz said its vision "extends to all financial markets."
Bukov's stated aims point in a different direction. "I believe DeFi is the way to an open financial system, one with no friction and no middlemen," he said. "I'd rather build that than wait around for it." He is positioning Second Tier as an independent infrastructure company rather than a rival to 1inch, saying it is building "secure, efficient systems that close the distance between economic intent and its execution."
Second Tier remains close to a blank slate. Bukov said he will withhold product details until there is "a working system to show, not just a vision." The venture has not disclosed any funding and has not named its team.
1inch did not respond to a request for comment.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
