0xMaki, the pseudonymous core contributor who had run Sushi day to day since its founder's exit, posted on X at 1:23 a.m. UTC on September 18, 2021, that he would move into an advisory role1. “I will always be there for @SushiSwap but going forward I'll be in a different role,” he wrote, linking to a longer post on Sushi's governance forum. CoinDesk reported the move on September 18, 2021, writing that the exchange's “de facto CEO said he will be turning his attention to the broader DeFi ecosystem”2.
Five leadership moves at Sushi on the record since 2021
Every move CryptoLately has verified there, by the day it became public
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Sept. 18, 2021 | 0xMaki left as Core Contributor. 0xMaki left as Core Contributor of Sushi |
| Oct. 3, 2022 | Grey became Head Chef. Jared Grey was named Head Chef (CEO) of Sushi (SushiSwap DAO) |
| Oct. 3, 2022 | Grey became Head Chef. Jared Grey was named Head Chef of Sushi |
| Dec. 1, 2025 | Grey left as Managing Director. Jared Grey left as Managing Director, Sushi Labs of Sushi |
| Dec. 1, 2025 | McCurry became Chief Executive. Alex McCurry was named Chief Executive of Sushi |
Nine executive exits on the record in 2021
Executive exits CryptoLately has verified, by year
- 2021: 9
- 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Moves: The Moves Ledger, CryptoLately's record of verified leadership moves, Oct. 3, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2026.
Read the chart as a table
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2019 | 6 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 9 |
| 2022 | 9 |
| 2023 | 8 |
| 2024 | 11 |
| 2025 | 20 |
The move
0xMaki laid out his plan in the forum post CoinDesk quoted. “I'll be moving away from day-to-day operations into an advisory role to help foster the next generation of teams building on top of Sushi, supporting from the sideline and helping without affiliation the broader DeFi ecosystem regardless of where they are deployed,” he wrote2. CoinDesk reported he planned to keep contributing in smaller ways. Those included a possible charitable project with the venture firm Future Fund, and work he said he owed Yearn.Finance contributor Banteg. Hayden Adams, founder of rival exchange Uniswap, posted praise for 0xMaki after the announcement, and CoinDesk reproduced it: “I thought sushi was done after Nomi rugged, but he single handedly made that not the case. He's always been nice the few times I've engaged with him. Good luck in whatever you do next Maki!”
Sushi before and after the change
CoinDesk reported that 0xMaki had risen from community manager to "figurehead and de facto CEO" before the September 2021 announcement. That rise followed the exit of Sushi's founder, known as Chef Nomi2. He had helped the exchange grow into "one of the preeminent decentralized exchanges in the DeFi space" while expanding it into new products.
What came next
The Head Chef seat he vacated proved hard to fill. Jared Grey took the role about three weeks before The Block profiled him on October 27, 2022, following "a lengthy search and public hiring process"3. The outlet reported the position “has been occupied by three individuals in the past, one who stole $16 million from the project's treasury, one who was ousted by the team, and one who erupted on Twitter blaming everyone but himself”. Grey described his approach to The Block as "a kind of wartime CEO methodology." He asked, "Where can we cut? Where can we lean out?" Sushi's trading volume had fallen to just 2.2 percent of rival Uniswap's the prior month, The Block reported. Grey's appointment came just over a year after 0xMaki's September 18, 2021 shift into an advisory role.
Sources
- 0xMaki, "0xMaki on X announcing his transition from Sushi leadership," X, September 18, 2021, https://twitter.com/0xMaki/status/1439037342740729857
- Andrew Thurman, "Sushi Core Contributor 0xMaki Transitioning to Advisory Role," CoinDesk, September 18, 2021, https://www.coindesk.com/business/2021/09/18/sushi-core-contributor-0xmaki-transitioning-to-advisory-role
- Tim Copeland, "SushiSwap's new Head Chef describes himself as a 'wartime CEO'," The Block, October 27, 2022, https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMisAFBVV95cUxQaEl5YTZLR09VdEZXY0IyWWNHdzRNZ0NzcVVBR1RsSFFHVDc4WkVXSEI1TVRhNk9kakN5eDdaMHZZbzhfRlF0NWpkajBiUWdhaUp0eHhONXF6UHdmTzRzdjVXZHI2aVJXTVJKSzhKRWhORF9OR0ZxUXh4R3QxV2VUNWVLV2FRWkhLLXdmYUdVQmdUQzVveWk1cUIxZElnSE02SXFOUmx1S2N6ZmlPTmVIaQ?oc=5