Umami Finance token crashes by over 50% as CEO dumps holdings

Decentralized finance protocol Umami Finance is in disarray as community members are unsure of the project’s future.

Several members of the Umami team resigned in a move designed to push the project “back towards decentralization and a DAO structure,” according to Discord messages seen by CryptoSlate.

The messages alleged that the protocol’s CEO Alex O’Donnell dumped his tokens on retail holders — blockchain security firm Peckshield confirmed this.

On-chain data shows that the address allegedly belonging to the CEO dumped over 10,000 UMAMI tokens in the last 24 hours for thousands of dollars in several transactions.

Umami CEO O’Donnell was yet to respond to CryptoSlate’s request for comment as of press time.

The dumpings led to the UMAMI token crashing by over 50% in the last 24 hours to as low as $4.56 from a high of $22, according to CoinMarketCap data.

The token has slightly rounded to $15.38 as of press time.

Meanwhile, the Discord messages stated that the protocol’s treasury assets were safe and controlled by those who would obey the Umami DAO. It added that:

“[The] team plans to move forward with a DAO structure and release vaults as planned with the Umami token having the same revenue claim as promised. Umami DAO retains control of both the code base including our vault products and the front end (Umami.finance)”

UMAMI’s official website described it as an “institutional-grade DeFi yield” product. The protocol allowed users to earn yields on crypto assets like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and USD Coin (USDC).

UMAMI publishes a monthly finance treasury update detailing all of its financial activities. Its last update covered Dec. 2022, reporting a net loss of $67,172. At the time, the DeFi protocol wrote:

“There are plenty of negative catalysts brewing that can take the markets for another leg down, and we plan on being prepared for those.”