Jump Trading has filed a lawsuit against a former employee, claiming he stole their intellectual property to launch a competing blockchain company.
The lawsuit, submitted on January 21 in a Chicago federal court, accuses Liam Heeger of breaching his non-compete agreement. Jump argues that he is now running a business that directly competes with them.
Heeger served as a lead software engineer on Firedancer, a key blockchain project at Jump. He worked there from February 2023 until he resigned on November 11, 2024. During his time, he was involved in analyzing and optimizing blockchain code.
On January 22, Heeger announced on X, using the handle Cantelopepeel, that he left Firedancer to start Unto Labs. This new venture aims to create a “next generation layer-1 blockchain.”
Jump claims that Heeger had significant access to sensitive information, including business strategies and unreleased code. They stress that keeping this information confidential is essential for their success in the blockchain space.
As of now, there hasn't been any public response from Heeger or Unto Labs regarding the lawsuit.
Jump alleges that Heeger began working on Unto Labs while still employed. They believe he used confidential information from Jump to benefit his new business, which harmed Jump in the process.
Furthermore, Jump states that Heeger secured $3 million in funding at a valuation of $50 million within a month of his resignation. They assert that he met with venture capitalists at the Breakpoint conference in Singapore while still working for Jump.
Jump also claims that Heeger shared information with a former colleague after leaving the company. He reportedly told his previous supervisor that he would no longer follow the non-compete agreement because he moved to California, where laws differ from Illinois.
The company is asking the court to enforce the non-compete agreement for the two-year period specified in the contract. They want to prevent anyone from collaborating with Heeger on his new venture in a way that violates the agreement. Additionally, Jump is requesting that Heeger return any of their intellectual property he may still possess.