io.net (IO) Token Falls 20% on Binance Launch Following CEO Exit

The Solana-based DePIN platform io.net (IO) dropped 20% on its opening day on the major cryptocurrency trading platforms, including Binance.

At the time of writing, IO was trading at around $3.62, a 20.81% decline, according to CoinMarketCap data. The intraday trading volume was $553 million, while the market capitalization was $344 million.

The io.net is a project that seeks to offer AI Compute-as-a-Currency by combining the computing power of GPUs stored with different storage service providers hence creating a physical infrastructure network. This happens as IO token was recently launched on Binance and this is good news for the project, however, the price fluctuations are a concern.

CEO Transition Amid Allegations

Before the launch of the IO token, Ahmad Shadid, the CEO of io.net, posted his resignation on the website io.net. This preceded controversies surrounding Shadid and the actual number of GPU chips the project holds. Shadid did not specifically refute the allegations but said that his resignation was to facilitate the company’s growth and move away from current issues.

Shadid conveyed the news on his social media platform and stated,

“While there have been  allegations regarding my past, I want to emphasize that I am stepping down as CEO to allow http://io.net move forward without distraction and to focus on its growth and success.”

Tory Green, the company’s co-founder and former COO, has been appointed as the new CEO in place of Shadid. Regarding potential token dumping, Shadid informed the community that his IO tokens will be locked up for four years, with a monthly unlock starting in June 2025. Also, he promised to give 1 million IO tokens to the io.net’s Internet of GPUs Foundation.

Security Threats and Network Security

The io.net project has recently have some security issues. Claims of overinflated GPU metrics by rivals were made, and thus, investigations followed. Some analysts, for instance, Martin Shkreli, questioned the network size as it was presented to the public. Shadid explained that that there were inconsistencies because certain attackers were pretending that their GPU was available in order to get future payments.

Adding to the problem, io.net had a case of a cyber attack in which a hacker used available user ID tokens to perform an SQL injection attack. This led to changes to the metadata of the devices in the GPU network without the permission of the management. In order to prevent this, the team put in additional security measures, carrying out SQL injection checks on APIs and logging attempts made by unauthorized persons. These actions temporarily limited the number of active GPU connections to 10,000 from 600,000, but the network has since recovered.

Future Outlook and Growth Prospects

Nevertheless, io.net continues pursuing its long-term objectives even after the price has been cut down and recent incidents. The IO token will be listed on Binance, which will help in the further expansion of the network. The new CEO, Tory Green, emphasized the company’s vision of creating the world’s largest decentralized AI compute network.

”We are very much committed to our goal of forming the world’s largest decentralized AI compute network, and we expect to continue to invest mostly in the supplier-side and customer-side growth,” Green said.

The IO token sale created 95 million tokens, and the total number of circulated IO tokens is expected to reach 800 million. The project’s team and its advisors also have a four-year lockup period, which is the same as Shadid; this helps to prevent rapid market sell-offs.

The blockchain behind io.net, Solana (SOL), was also relatively unaffected by these incidents. At the time of reporting, Solana was trading at $146.67, reflecting a decline of 9.51% in the last 24 hours and 13.04% over the past week.