Kresko, a DeFi protocol for trading synthetic stocks, commodities, and crypto, is shutting down. The platform announced this news on Thursday. The reason? Founder Deepak Nuli is facing serious health issues.

In a post on X, Kresko shared, “Our founder has been facing significant health challenges, which have recently worsened. After much consideration and exploring various alternatives, we’ve concluded that this is the best course of action.” Unfortunately, they didn’t provide more details.

Before starting Kresko, Nuli founded a company called Multisig, which focused on crypto security and research. Now, users have until September 10 to withdraw their assets or move their funds to a new protocol called Kopio. This new platform is a fork developed by some former Kresko team members, meaning it's a version based on the original.

Kresko launched in 2021, right after the GameStop short squeeze event. Remember when Robinhood halted trading on that stock? Kresko allowed users to create and trade synthetic assets—crypto-backed tokens that represent positions in traditional assets. Users could trade synthetic stocks of companies like Tesla or commodities like gold.

The protocol features a minter app, which lets users mint synthetic versions of investment assets based on the crypto they commit. Plus, users can trade fractions of these synthetic assets instead of buying whole shares.

In the crypto synthetics market, Kresko was a minor player. This sector is valued at about $805 million, according to CoinGecko. The biggest names are Synthetix Network and Uma Protocol, worth $493 million and $181 million, respectively. Other notable projects include STP Network, Cryptex Finance, and Indigo Protocol.

Osato Avan-Nomayo is our DeFi correspondent based in Nigeria. He covers topics related to DeFi and technology. If you have tips or information about stories, feel free to reach out to him at [email protected].