NFTs

Frank DeGods Steps Down as DeGods CEO, Successor Confirmed

In a statement on X, DeGods co-founder Frank DeGods – real name Rohun Vora – has announced that he is stepping down as CEO, with pseudonymous co-founder @0x_chill and @pastagotsauce taking over the role. Frank remarked that he’s “excited to hand the reigns to the team”, noting that “my chapter is closing, but the story isn’t over”. In a reflective moment, he would go on to state that “maybe we’ll look back at this fixation on “frank degods” as the thing that was holding us back”.

The former CEO also clarified that he is not “on the run”, and that “there are no investigations, because I have never done anything illegal”. Frank DeGods – real name Rohun Vora – is the founder and former CEO of NFT collection DeGods. Minted on Solana in October 2021, the 10,000-piece DeGods NFT collection is one of the most prominent PFP collections in the entirely of Web3. Thanks to Frank’s efforts, the collection has forged a reputation for outside-the-box innovation – a reputation that has seen DeGods gather a passionate community that ranks amongst the most tight-knit in the blockchain space.

Despite this success, Frank has seen frequent criticism for his leadership of the DeGods collection. From migrating DeGods and y00ts away from Solana to Bitcoin and Ethereum and back again, to lengthy statements that were unable to clarify the purpose and direction of the project – including an admission that he was “trusting the others on the team to lead the charge” – recent months have seen both DeGods holders and the wider Web3 community grow increasingly critical of his actions.

Frank’s statement that he is stepping down as DeGods CEO is his first public statement since February 16, where he announced he was “retiring my main public wallet” after allegations of insider trading, remarking that “it’s pointless trying to prove anything to you people”. The role of DeGods CEO is set to be shared by two members of the DeGods team: @0x_chill and @pastagotsauce. Both are well-known by the DeGods community, but have not publicly revealed their real names or faces. It remains to be seen whether this will continue to be the case, or if they will become a “public face” for the brand, much like Frank was.

In an announcement to the DeGods Discord – which notably didn’t thank Frank for his contributions over the years – Pasta stated that the coming weeks will see the creation of “an homage to the last three years and everything we built together”, and that “after that, things will look different”. Though no additional details on exactly what the future may hold have been revealed so far, Pasta noted that “DeGods was at it’s [sic] best when it was chaotic, creative, and fun”, and that their job is “to make DeGods as big as it can possibly be”.

Terron Gold