Ric Burton, the CEO of Balance, has stated that he believes he was taken advantage of by Hayden Adams, the creator of Uniswap, whom he had thought to be one of his "closest friends." (1)
To assist Adams in bringing Uniswap to market, Burton had contributed not only his time and friendship but also an undetermined amount of money. However, Burton reported that his efforts were never compensated, making him feel "heartbroken and depressed."
I was so happy for Hayden. Things were looking up for the guy.
— Ric.eth (@ricburton) February 2, 2023
He was cranking out code. Working with our team on interface ideas. Making progress with the project.
I considered Hayden to be one of my closest friends in New York.
I honestly would have taken a bullet for him. pic.twitter.com/rS0T83Miw8
Helped Uniswap of Getting Started
Burton led the search for dApp developers in New York City in the spring of 2018. This included offering potential developers time, cash, and studio space to work on their projects and arranging events.
He recalled that of all the programmers he had seen, Adams stood among the numerous aspirants due to his tireless excitement for Uniswap.
"He was hellbent on doing havoc. Uniswap was the only topic he could broach whenever you came into contact with him."
The shared objective of making "Ethereum amazing for people" led to the rapid development of a strong relationship between the two individuals, who supported one another in their fights for success.
"During the ups and downs of attempting to develop companies in an environment with relatively few viable initiatives, we were there for each other and supported each other,"
Burton stated that he had complete faith in Adams and the AMM DEX idea he had developed and that he had no qualms about allowing Adams unrestricted access to the studio. When Adams's funds ran out, Burton paid his rent and used some of Balance's money to meet the rest of Adams's bills and costs.
The Ethereum Foundation quickly showed up when it became aware of the protocol's potential, marking a crucial turning point. The future appeared promising, especially once the crypto currency investment company Paradigm joined the team.
Adams informed Burton that he planned to include Burton in the Uniswap round as a kind of repayment for his assistance, and Burton had faith that Adams would uphold his end of the bargain.
After some time had gone, in March of 2019, Burton was confronted with several personal challenges, including the passing of his grandmother. He said that the other co-founder of Balance requested him to quit the company, but he did not disclose any further information about the request.
The Betrayal
According to Burton, Adams disregarded his messages during this period and disappeared without a trace. However, contact was re-established just as preparations were being made to roll out the UNI token. After that, Adams made an offer to reimburse Burton for his expenses.
However, to accept the offer, they needed to agree to a provision that said they could never discuss the happenings and conditions of their relationship in public. Burton remarked when asked about the deal, "This was one of the most obnoxious contracts I had ever seen."
The narrative jumps ahead in time, around four years, to the present, when Burton relates this anecdote, explaining that he was stopped from going public earlier due to his melancholy.
As the line of tweets closed, Burton indicated that legal action would be taken to retrieve the due money. But at the same time, he asked the people who use Twitter whether they believe he deserved to get nothing as a way of expressing doubt in both himself and this course of action.
