Antonio Juliano, founder and CEO of dYdX Trading Inc., the developer behind the decentralized derivatives exchange dYdX, has stepped down as CEO, citing personal and professional reasons. 

“The change wasn’t sudden to the internal team, employees, or stakeholders. It had been in discussion," a spokesperson told The Block.

When asked if there were regulatory concerns that prompted the resignation, the spokesperson said, "The SEC has not taken action against dYdX Trading. We have not received a Wells notice and do not expect to receive one.”

Reflecting on a “rollercoaster” of emotions since writing the original dYdX whitepaper in 2017, Juliano said in a blog post on Monday that there were many times he felt so overwhelmed he wanted to leave.

However, since becoming “profoundly …