Fantom (FTM) Price Spikes 25% On Rumors of Andre Cronje Return 

Speculation surrounding the return of Andre Cronje to the Fantom Foundation has sent its token price soaring over the past day.

Fantom (FTM) price spiked 33% in the past 24 hours from $0.21 yesterday to a high of $0.28. Although now trading around $0.27, the rise is in line with the token’s upwards trend recently. In the past week it has risen nearly 25%, with a 35% rise over the past two weeks. 

Recent favorable Fantom price traction is largely the result of renewed activity from the protocol’s mastermind, Andre Cronje.

Cronje Departed Suddenly From DeFi

Andre Cronje has played an outsized role in the development of decentralized finance. In addition to Fantom, the software architect is also known for Yearn Finance, Keep3r Network, SushiSwap and Solidly, among others. 

Earlier this year, he made waves in the crypto community when he announced he would be leaving the sector. Cronje had earlier expressed discontent over working in the industry, penning the aptly titled treatise “Building in DeFi Sucks”. Since his contribution had been so significant, this put many projects on hold, and billions of dollars at risk.

Return of the Fantom?

Now, recent activity from the dissenting DeFi developer has raised speculation over whether he has returned. Last week, his account on Medium published a lengthy article summarizing the current state of the crypto markets. However, Cronje’s lengthy inactivity, and the article’s premise suggesting greater crypto regulation led some to doubt its authenticity.

Yet, earlier today Cronje updated his LinkedIn profile, declaring he was the Vice President of Memes at the Fantom Foundation. In addition to being the project’s technical advisor, he had also previously served as Chairman of the Fantom Foundation.

True to his title, the VP posted a meme on his verified Twitter page that implied he has indeed returned.

A rundown by another Twitter user summing up Cronje’s recent actions seemed to surmise something similar.