Cosmos price fails to recover from project in-fighting, resignations

Cosmos (ATOM), the 23rd-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has been on a rollercoaster ride for weeks—all seemingly stemming from trouble at Tendermint, developers of the Cosmos blockchain network.

The middle of February marked a 2020 high for the network’s ATOM cryptocurrency, which was trading for about $5.15 per coin at the time. But it’s been rocky from there, and today the price dropped to as low as $3.57 per coin.

Cosmos has now shed close to $2.00, or right around 30 percent, from its price in just over two weeks.

The trouble first started in late January. Cosmos founder Jae Kwon stepped away from the project after three years to focus his attention on another venture known as Virgo. Kwon later issued a statement assuring Cosmos enthusiasts that while he wasn’t leaving the company completely, it would largely operate without his presence.

This didn’t sit well with Zaki Manian, who was essentially Kwon’s second in command at Tendermint. Manian accused Kwon in a Twitter message of “evading responsibility,” and said he was neglecting what they had worked years to establish.

The price of Cosmos recovered somewhat following the drama. But not long after this public spat, Manian made his own announcement resigning his position. In it, Manian took another jab at Kwon, suggesting that Kwon was “mismanaging the Cosmos team.” 

Two days later, 10 Cosmos engineers and researchers followed suit and split from the project.