Jared Grey Steps Down as SushiSwap Head After Leading the DEX Since 2022, Moves to Advisory Role

SushiSwap's captain is stepping off the bridge. Jared Grey, who's been steering the decentralized exchange since 2022, is handing over the wheel and transitioning to an advisory role.

What's Next for the Kitchen?

The move sparks immediate questions about the protocol's direction. Grey's tenure saw SushiSwap navigate some of DeFi's roughest waters—regulatory pressure, brutal competition, and the ever-present specter of 'vampire attacks' from newer, shinier forks. His shift to an advisory position suggests a strategic pivot, not a full retreat. The community now watches for the next head chef to take the helm.

Advisory Roles & The Art of Graceful Exits

In the high-stakes world of crypto governance, moving to an advisory seat is a classic play. It allows for continuity of institutional knowledge without the day-to-day firefighting. For a protocol like SushiSwap, which has been a staple of the DeFi menu since the 2020 summer, maintaining stability is paramount. The transition must be smoother than a well-executed token swap.

Leadership Churn: A DeFi Feature or Bug?

Let's be real—this isn't SushiSwap's first leadership shuffle. The protocol's history is a testament to the turbulent, often drama-filled nature of decentralized governance. Each change at the top brings a fresh vision, new promises, and another round of speculative chatter on Crypto Twitter. It's almost as volatile as the token's price chart. The real test isn't who's in the seat, but whether the protocol can keep serving up sustainable yields in a market where today's gourmet feast is tomorrow's stale bread.

Grey's move from commander to consultant closes a significant chapter. For SushiSwap, the recipe for success now requires a new cook in the kitchen, hopefully one who can handle the heat.

SushiSwap docks in stability harbor after high turbulence

Grey took the helm in 2022 after months of internal turmoil that saw several leadership changes. The protocol was founded as a fork of Uniswap during the 2020 decentralized finance boom but then faced instability following the departure of its pseudonymous founder and lead developer, Chef Nomi, who withdrew $14 million from the project and later returned it with an apology to the community.

With Grey at the helm, he steered SushiSwap through a regulatory minefield that came to a head with an SEC subpoena in 2023. He focused on streamlining operations, saying, “During my tenure, we weathered a severe regulatory regime and streamlined operations.”

Grey wrote, “On the product side, the team built one of the industry’s most distributed and performant aggregators, expanded our multi-chain reach by supporting 20+ new network launches.”

Some of the key developments during his tenure included the launch of Blade, a novel automated market maker (AMM) product, and a partnership with the Katana network, a DeFi-focused Layer 2 blockchain backed by Polygon that launched in June 2024.

The Katana integration “has accumulated over $100M in TVL on the Sushi app alone, positioning Sushi as Core liquidity and routing infrastructure for emerging ecosystems,” according to the SushiSwap team.

Grey also mentioned their collaboration with the Ekubo Protocol. SushiSwap was the first licensee of the Ekubo multichain AMM infrastructure, with Grey stating in that announcement that “There’s no better partner for our AMM vision than the industry’s leading team in concentrated liquidity and AMM tech. We’re excited to work together and continue growing our ecosystems.”

Ambitious growth targets

McCurry brings entrepreneurial credentials to the role, having built and scaled software businesses to eight-figure revenues. His firm Synthesis’s investment signals confidence in SushiSwap’s prospects despite increasing competition in the decentralized exchange space.

“I am super excited to be joining SushiSwap, leading the protocol is a dream opportunity,” McCurry wrote on X, adding that “Sushi has strong PMF and an opportunity for an ambitious roadmap.”

SushiSwap mentioned in its announcement on X that its revenue target will be increasing, writing, “With Synthesis’s backing, our goal is to scale this to $20M+ in annual revenue over the coming years, with a focus on disciplined growth, clear execution, and sustainable business fundamentals.”

McCurry stated that aggressive execution would be necessary to capture market share as the cryptocurrency market matures.

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