Jump Trading sues its former Firedancer engineer for starting rival business

Jump Trading filed a lawsuit against Liam Heeger, its former software engineer. Heeger co-led the major blockchain project Firedancer at the company. He is accused of violating non-competition obligations by now running a “competitive business.”

According to the lawsuit filed by Jump Operations on Tuesday, Liam Heeger submitted his resignation from the organization on November 11. During this time frame, the developer launched a new venture.

The filing states that Jump is “directly competed with” by Heeger’s new blockchain development venture. 

On the other hand,  a spokesperson for Unto Labs said that Heeger and the company strongly deny the allegations. They added that they are confident in the integrity of their business practices.

The spokesperson stated, “While we respect the legal process, we believe the claims made against Liam are without merit […]  “We are confident that we are building something entirely new and are excited to see where this project goes next.” 

Jump trading ended last year with lawsuits and seems to be beginning the year with another chapter of lawsuits. Its lawsuit against Heeger comes amidst the launch of Unto Labs, co-founded by Heeger. It aspires to create a new Layer 1 blockchain. 

Details of Jump Trading’s lawsuit 

In addition to Heeger’s new blockchain development, Jump adds that Heeger got $3M in funds at a $50M valuation just one month after leaving his job. 

Jump has also accused Heeger of misappropriating the company’s confidential and proprietary information to establish a competitor while still employed by the company. 

For instance, in September, Heeger allegedly met with venture capital firms to raise funds for his new venture at the Breakpoint conference in Singapore. During that period, he represented Jump by presenting updates on Project Firedancer on stage.

Reports have it that Heeger informed his former supervisor at Jump in December that he intended to comply with his non-competition agreement when he signed it. However, the document claimed that he had since traveled to California, where the law differs from Illinois. 

This meant he was no longer obligated to comply with his non-compete obligations.

In December, following his departure from the company, Heeger revealed his investors for the new venture. He named Framework Ventures and its sister company, Framework Labs.

Jump Trading’s 2024 troubles

The crypto industry has doubted Jump’s strategies for the better part of last year. In August 2024, Jump Trading’s aggressive Ether sell-off coincided with Japan’s market crash. The move raised questions about its strategy and market exit, especially among those who did not believe it was a coincidence.

After that, in October, Fracture Labs filed a lawsuit against Jump Trading in an Illinois district court. The entity accused the firm of breaching their agreement and manipulating the DIO token.

In addition, the lawsuit alleged that Jump repurchased the devalued DIO tokens for a mere $53,000 after selling them at their peak. Jump was able to return the 10 million tokens it had borrowed, fulfilling its obligation to Fracture Labs, and make millions in profit in the process.

In December 2024, Jump Trading agreed to pay $123M to settle an investigation stemming from its dealings with TerraForm Labs crypto tycoon Do Kwon. The unit negligently misled investors about the stability of TerraUSD. 

From Zero to Web3 Pro: Your 90-Day Career Launch Plan