- Flashbots has recently gone on a hiring drive adding 13 new members to its team
- It recently raised $1 billion in funding, and its research head quit the position
Launched in December 2020, Flashbots is a firm dedicated to research and development in the crypto space. Its area of focus is Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) which determines the transaction volume. It is an extra profit that token companies can earn by organizing the transactions systematically into the blockchain. If left unchecked, the MEV could cause an array of issues to the token protocol.
And that’s why, Flashbots acquired a distinct place in the crypto space. Recently, it also raised funds to the tune of $1 billion. While the company is doing really well on the operational front, it’s the news about its top brass and hiring that grabbed the eyeballs of industry enthusiasts. Recently, its leading researcher and one of the earliest employees, Alex Obadia, announced his voluntary departure.
A veteran is leaving the company
On Tuesday, Obadia tweeted he was leaving due to the differences in his opinions regarding the vision and values of the organization. Notably, Obadia was accountable for the strategy and was fondly called the founding Steward of the company.
In the post, he said that leadership always had different opinions, which also nurtured the company in many ways. But he believes that it’s now the time to part ways. He said that he’s quitting in quite an amicable manner, and it happens in every budding organization.
However, he indicated that Flashbots is staring at some serious problems ahead. He said that the current incumbents need to protect themselves from becoming what they’re trying to prevent. He emphasized that the team needs to be focused on its motto instead of diverting in other directions.
Flashbots also seemed to be harmonious with Obadia’s decision. A representative told Coindesk the company is thankful to Obadia for his valuable contributions and would look forward to working with him again in the future.
Focus on USP & hiring
Although he didn’t respond to the request for any other comments, Flashbots established its business over one key solution- extraction of MEV. It built software that became an instant hit among the projects that were using Ethereum to validate the transactions. Also, the company plans to launch a SUAVE network that would integrate the same functionality into the other blockchains.
It recently closed its successful Series B funding, which would go to its research and development division. As per a statement given to CoinDesk, the company is keen to empower every token protocol with the MEV functionality.
Another big news that came from Flashbots is that it is hiring new recruits in its top hierarchy. The name that grabbed the most eyeballs is Andrew Miller, appointed as the new research lead on SUAVE and Trusted Execution Environments. Miller is known in crypto circles for his notable work on broke Intel’s SGX code. The project had a massive impact on the secret blockchain and its security.
We work as an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois. Additionally, he has been working as associate director of the Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts (C3).
Conclusion
Flashbots has gone on a hiring drive and has had 13 new members in the past six months. Some other significant names are Daniel Marzec, former engineer at Blocknative, and Danning Sui, former head of data science at the decentralized finance infrastructure firm Ox.
