Founder and CEO of crypto custodian Fortress Trust, Scott Purcell, has stepped down from his position nearly a month after major blockchain firm Ripple canceled its proposed acquisition of the company., Purcell served at Fortress for two years plus, ending in October 2023, while going ahead to found a new startup this month.
Apart from the CEO’s resignation, Fortress also carried out some layoffs, reportedly letting go of at least six employees, most of them from the sales department. Meanwhile, neither Fortress Trust nor its parent company have made a statement concerning Purcell stepping down or company layoffs.The latest development comes shortly after Ripple announced that it would no longer proceed with acquiring Fortress Trust.
Before the failed acquisition deal, one of Fortress’s partners suffered a security breach, affecting four clients. The hack resulted in a loss between $12 million and $15 million worth of bitcoin and stablecoins USDT and USDC.to make the affected accounts whole, with Purcell stating that the blockchain company gave Fortress $15 million to help with the losses,to Bloomberg.