Wonderland Founder’s Controversial Return To DeFi

Wonderland (TIME) founder Daniele Sestagalli has announced his return to DeFi with a disconcerting tweet.

The Return Of Wonderland 

Sestagalli has been away from the DeFi market for a few months. In January 2022, the industry witnessed the downfall of the Wonderland DeFi platform due to the scandal associated with the protocol’s treasury head, Michael Patryn. Sestagalli had openly quit working in the DeFi market following this incident. He had even declared that the “Wonderland experiment is coming to an end.” 

However, on July 26, Sestagalli announced his return along with that of the defunct DeFi protocol. He tweeted, 

“Wonderland is back with more tech and less talking. I am back too. And I don’t care if you like it or not, TIME is now for MAGIC to happen.”

Video Teases TIME, MAGIC Comeback

Sestagalli’s tweet also included a short video that teased his followers about the comeback of the Wonderland protocol. The video contained a cryptic voiceover that narrates, 

“Wonder, the land of wonder. You’ve forgotten yourself, bro, and so you’ve forgotten TIME. You have grown immensely. Remember who you are. You are now a ‘frog,’ and perhaps, the true explorer seeking to rebuild the one true realm. A grain of sand isn’t strong; an avalanche of sand is much stronger. But what is moving sand without the one who spends time with it? Such a waste. Consider this – in the line of time, when the forest awakens, the nation of frogs will prevail. You have decided and this isn’t over.”

The post did not reveal any further details about the nature of the comeback. However, the mentions of TIME and MAGIC indicate that the Wonderland native token and the Abracadabra-based stablecoin Magic Internet Money (MIM) could feature in the comeback. 

The Michael Patryn Saga That Took Down Wonderland

The Wonderland DeFi protocol was built on the Avalanche blockchain network and was launched as a fork of Olympus DAO in late 2021. Soon after its launch, the protocol hit its peak of $1 billion in assets under its reserves. However, trouble started when the news broke that the protocol’s treasury head, who used to identify by the pseudonym Sifu or 0xSifu, was actually Michael Patryn, the co-founder of collapsed crypto exchange QuadrigaCX. Unfortunately, Patryn was also a convicted felon. Apparently, Sestagalli had found out about Sifu’s true identity and criminal past but opted to remain quiet, all the while allowing him to continue his role as Wonderland’s head of treasury. When the community caught wind of this information, all hell broke loose on the protocol. Patryn was formally ousted from his Wonderland role by a community vote, and the TIME token crashed. Following another deeply divided community vote, Sestagalli decided to shut down operations of the Wonderland DeFi protocol in January 2022. 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.