Photo credit: Chicago Business

Kanav Kariya is stepping down from his job as the head of Jump Trading’s cryptocurrency unit amid alleged investigations by the United States Commodity Futures Trading and Commission (CFTC).

“It’s my last day at Jump, a moment I’m receiving with both a heavy heart and great excitement about the road ahead,” Kariya wrote on X on June 24, announcing his departure from the proprietary trading firm.

Kariya didn’t reveal where he was headed next but said he plans to engage with Jump’s portfolio companies he was mostly involved in and “catch up on relationships and reading.” The former Jump Crypto president also reflected on the “unbelievably eventful few years we’ve had.”

Kariya became the subsidiary’s first president in 2021.

His departure comes on the heels of a Fortune report, revealing a CFTC probe on Jump Trading’s involvement in crypto, including inquiries into its trading and investing activity.

The investigation, which does not imply any guilt, follows a challenging three-year period for Jump that dealt blows during Kariya’s tenure.

Jump Trading formed its crypto arm in 2021, becoming a major market maker and investor in the digital asset industry.

The firm has had successful ventures, including the Pyth Network, a provider of real-time market data for blockchain applications, and Wormhole, which bridges Solana to Ethereum.

But in 2022, Jump had to bail out Wormhole, injecting over $320 million into the bridge after it suffered a major hack. The firm parted ways with the crypto bridge in November last year as it retrenches in the digital asset space.

Jump faced further challenges due to its involvement with the Terra ecosystem collapse and exposure to the crypto exchange FTX. Accusations arose of market manipulation to maintain Terra’s stablecoin peg, resulting in significant profits for Jump while regular investors suffered losses. Despite these issues, Jump reassured investors about its financial stability and liquidity. The SEC’s lawsuit against Terraform Labs further exposed Jump’s role in propping up Terra’s failing peg.

Read more: Mt. Gox to begin Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash repayments in July