Andre Cronje, Michael Kong and David Richardson Resign from Sonic Labs Board as Governance Overhaul Begins

Sonic Labs said June 19 that Michael Kong, Andre Cronje and David Richardson have resigned from the company’s board and will no longer make business decisions for the organization, a leadership reset at a time when the Sonic blockchain ecosystem is under heavy pressure. In an official “Leadership update from Sonic Labs,” the company said the three men remain invested in Sonic’s success, but governance will shift to a new executive team.

The change comes as Sonic’s market and on-chain activity have fallen sharply from earlier highs. CoinGecko data cited in current market snapshots shows the S token reached an all-time high of $1.03 on Jan. 4, 2025, and was recently trading near $0.03, leaving it about 97% below that peak. DefiLlama showed Sonic’s total value locked, or TVL — a common measure of assets deposited in decentralized finance applications — at about $20.62 million. The research also noted that Sonic’s TVL had been above $1 billion in 2025.

Sonic Labs said Matt Visser will become chief executive officer and Kosta Kourkoumelis will become chief operating officer. The company also pledged a broader governance overhaul, including more transparent decision-making, the creation of a risk and compliance function, better communication and an approach that treats S token holders as stakeholders. Visser, in the company’s post, said: “I am not here to promise an instant turnaround. I am here to make Sonic 1% better every single day and let that compound.”

Cronje, a prominent decentralized finance developer best known for Yearn and Keep3r and long associated with Fantom and Sonic, separately confirmed the resignations in a statement published on his own site on June 19 and updated June 20. “On June 19, 2026, Sonic Labs announced that Michael Kong, David Richardson, and I are resigning from the Sonic Labs board and will no longer make business decisions for the organization. That announcement is accurate,” he wrote. Cronje said he accepted responsibility for the technical work he led, but added that he did not design, lead or execute the migration from FTM to S, and did not design or administer the Sonic airdrop.

The board exits are notable because Sonic is the successor network to Fantom, following a rebrand and token migration from FTM to S around late 2024 into early 2025. The S token is central to the network, serving as the asset used for fees, staking and governance, which gives management changes direct relevance for token holders and developers building on the chain. Cronje’s profile in DeFi makes his departure from board decision-making more significant than a routine reshuffle, but Sonic Labs is framing the move as a reset centered on governance, compliance and steadier execution rather than a quick fix.