Aptos Labs CEO Steps Down

Aptos co-founder and CEO Mo Shaikh has announced his departure from his leadership role. Aptos Labs CTO Avery Ching will take over the role.

In the early morning hours of December 20, 2024, Mo Shaikh, co-founder and CEO of Aptos Labs – the organization behind the Aptos layer-1 blockchain development, unexpectedly announced his decision to step down after more than 3 years of dedication and development of the project.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been passionate about building systems that empower people—fairer, more open systems. Since 2016, I have been deeply involved in the blockchain world, both exploring and contributing to its transformative social and economic potential.

Three…

— Mo Shaikh 🌐 aptOS (@moshaikhs) December 19, 2024

In the post on X, Shaikh shared:

"Today marks a new turning point in my journey as I decide to leave Aptos Labs, where I have devoted all my passion to building from the very first days. I am proud that Aptos Labs has become a strong collective with an excellent team. The road ahead is full of exciting things waiting, and I believe that Aptos Labs will continue to shine brightly."

Shaikh also did not forget to thank partners and investors such as BlackRock, Google, Mastercard, PayPal and large investment funds that have supported Aptos' vision. He also affirmed that he will continue to be associated with Aptos in the role of strategic advisor. He said:

"I have always been a strong supporter of Aptos' mission and will continue to contribute to the blockchain's continued leadership in the crypto space."

Aptos Labs co-founder and current CTO Avery Ching will continue to serve as CEO moving forward. According to a post shared on X, Ching will focus on technological innovation, improving product development speed, and expanding the developer community in strategic markets such as India, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, and China.

https://t.co/L2a4zJXOaO

— avery.apt 🌐 (@AveryChing) December 19, 2024

Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching co-founded Aptos Labs in 2021, shortly after Meta's Diem stablecoin project ceased operations. Leveraging what was built from Diem, the two successfully developed the Aptos layer-1 blockchain, using the Move language.

Under the leadership of Mo Shaikh, Aptos Labs has achieved important milestones:

Mainnet launch and APT token airdrop in October 2022: This is one of the important milestones in the development journey of Aptos, reviving the airdrop/retroactive trend.

Successfully raised $350 million in capital: Within two years, Aptos has raised a huge amount of capital from major investors such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Jump Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Binance Labs and many other investment funds.

Strong ecosystem: Aptos has attracted more than 1,000 developers and projects, becoming one of the leading blockchains in the market.

APT price did not fluctuate much after this information was announced, recording a slight decrease of 1.5% in the past 24 hours following the general market adjustment after Bitcoin price dropped to $96,000 and is currently fluctuating around $11.5.