MakerDAO co-founder Nikolai Mushegian dies at 29 in Puerto Rico

Nikolai Mushegian, a co-founder of the cryptocurrency lending level MakerDAO and the decentralized Dai (DAI) stablecoin, was recovered dormant successful Puerto Rico past week.

Mushegian died owed to drowning aft being dragged by oversea currents connected the Condado formation successful San Juan, the section paper El Nuevo Día reported. Mushegian had nary captious signs by the clip his assemblage was rescued.

The Condado formation is considered one of the world’s astir unsafe places for swimmers, reportedly taking the lives of astatine slightest 8 radical successful 2021.

The unfortunate lawsuit was reported to section authorities connected the greeting connected Oct. 28. According to a constabulary report, Mushegian was a nonmigratory of San Juan. The country was reportedly investigated by the San Juan Homicide Division and a section prosecutor.

Mushegian was an important fig successful the cryptocurrency community, contributing to aggregate manufacture projects, with immoderate referring to him arsenic a “DAI architect.” The 29-year-old crypto developer is known for his enactment with MakerDAO forks Rico and Rai, arsenic good arsenic the proof-of-stake blockchain web BitShares. Mushegian is besides a co-founder of the automated marketplace shaper Balancer.

MakerDAO laminitis and CEO Rune Christensen took to Twitter connected Oct. 31 to accidental that Mushegian contributed important inputs to the Maker improvement and has done immoderate important enactment since the aboriginal days of Ethereum.

Nikolai was 1 of the lone radical successful the aboriginal days of Ethereum and astute contracts who was capable to foretell the anticipation of astute declaration hacks and invented the security-oriented attack to astute declaration plan we cognize today. Maker would person been toast without him

— Rune (@RuneKek) October 31, 2022

Cardano laminitis Charles Hoskinson wrote connected Twitter that helium knew Mushegian from backmost successful the Bitshares days. “He was a precise young and highly agleam antheral who had a precise wide array of interests from crippled mentation to Urbit,” Hoskinson said, adding that the coder had a heavy knowing of technology.

Tether co-creator Craig Sellars noted that Mushegian's decease came conscionable a fewer days aft MakerDAO assemblage voted to o.k. custody of $1.6 cardinal successful USD Coin (USDC) with Coinbase crypto exchange.

Related: MakerDAO gross tumbles 86% connected Ether and Wrapped BTC woes

Mushegian was an progressive assemblage subordinate connected societal media. His Twitter account, Delete_shitcoin, has astir 5,500 followers astatine the clip of writing. His past tweet was published conscionable a fewer hours earlier his death, referring to suggestions of alleged blackmail from the Central Intelligence Agency and Mossad. Mushegian antecedently made akin statements connected Twitter, hinting astatine a imaginable “suicide” by the CIA arsenic 1 of his imaginable futures.