Ahmad Shadid resigned as CEO of the Solana-based DePIN Protocol io.net on Sunday, just two days before the launch of io.net’s token, IO. This decision raised skepticism within the crypto community regarding both the timing of the resignation and Shadid's past.

Solana-Based DePIN Project Undergoes Management Change

Ahmad Shadid announced his immediate resignation as CEO of io.net, a Solana-based decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) aimed at providing unlimited computing power to machine learning applications. The protocol aggregates GPUs from various providers to offer cost-efficient computing power to AI and ML teams, allowing users to earn money by renting out their spare GPU capacity.

Shadid's departure, as stated in his announcement, was made after careful consideration and is intended to benefit the community and the project. Additionally, he pledged to donate 1 million IO tokens from his allocation to io.net’s GPU foundation to support ecosystem growth.

Tory Green, former COO and co-founder, was appointed as the new CEO of io.net. Green assured users that the project would continue working towards its goal of becoming the largest AI compute network and democratizing AI access.

Crypto Community Uncertain About Io.net’s Future

Shadid clarified that his resignation was unrelated to any allegations against him, emphasizing his desire for io.net to operate smoothly. However, the community had mixed reactions to the news, with some agreeing that the resignation was necessary for the project's future while others found the timing suspicious.

Concerns were raised about a potential dump after the token launch, but Shadid reassured investors by highlighting the token vesting schedule. Despite this, some community members brought up past scamming allegations against Shadid, urging caution.

Moreover, Martin Shkreli accused io.net of misleading the community and manipulating information. Shadid's resignation was seen by some as validating Shkreli's claims and possibly signaling a bearish future for io.net.

Nevertheless, many are waiting to see how things unfold after the token launch. IO token is set to launch on Binance’s Launchpool on June 11, with 95 million IO tokens available at launch. Trading will commence at noon UTC with several trading pairs available.