Tributes Flow for ‘Visionary’ Crypto Contributor Nikolai Mushegian

Nikolai Mushegian was known among Ethereum circles as a genius visionary who inspired much of the early workings on smart contract security

article-image

Blockworks exclusive art by axel rangel

share

key takeaways

  • Nikolai Mushegian was found by rescue personnel after reportedly being swept away by strong currents at a beach in Condado
  • He played a crucial role in many of Ethereum’s most vital innovations across DeFi

Crypto community members are paying tribute to Nikolai Mushegian, a long-time contributor to the ecosystem and one of the co-founders of MakerDAO, who passed away last Friday.

According to local media, Mushegian (reported as “Muchgian”) was swept by strong currents on a beach in Condado, Puerto Rico behind Ashford Hospital in the country’s northeast. Rescue personnel managed to recover the body, though no vital signs were present.

Mushegian was a resident of San Juan, according to local authorities who were alerted to the incident after it was reported at 9:15 am ET.

The 29-year-old developer is best remembered for his work with multiple industry projects including MakerDAO forks Rico and Rai as well as automated market maker Balancer, among others.

“Nikolai was a crucial part of many of Ethereum’s most vital innovations, including DeFi and DAOs,” former Ethereum Foundation employee Hudson Jameson told Blockworks. “Many today are reflecting on his innovative spirit and kind heart. He will be deeply missed in our community.”

Tributes for Mushegian have begun pouring in across social media by those who recall his early involvement in decentralized finance and developer building blocks known as primitives.

Loading Tweet..

Mushegian was also known as a genius visionary for his work on smart contracts and blockchains in their first stages of development.

“Nikolai was one of the only people in the early days of Ethereum and smart contracts who was able to predict the possibility of smart contract hacks and invented the security-oriented approach to smart contract design we know today,” MakerDAO co-founder Rune Christensen tweeted. “Maker would have been toast without him.”

Christensen and Mushegian worked side by side on MakerDAO, as well as various other projects including Maker spin-off DappHub — a depository for blockchain developer tools. 

Though respectful of each other, the pair reportedly disagreed over how the project should be run. That eventually led to Mushegian leaving Maker. The protocol’s native token launched shortly after and a development fund was established.

Former MakerDAO chief technology officer Andy Milenius, like Christensen, knew and worked with Mushegian closely during the earlier years of Ethereum in 2015 and 2016.

“I will always be inspired by your fierce commitment to the truth, even when others don’t yet understand. Rest in peace Nikolai,” Milenius tweeted.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

  • Blockworks Daily: The newsletter that helps thousands of investors understand crypto and the markets, by Byron Gilliam.
  • Empire: Start your morning with the top news and analysis to inform your day in crypto.
  • Forward Guidance: Reporting and analysis on the growing intersection of crypto and macroeconomics, policy and finance.
  • 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox. Market highlights, data, degen trade ideas, governance updates, token performance and more.
  • Lightspeed: Built for Solana investors, developers and community members. The latest from one of crypto’s hottest networks.
  • The Drop: For crypto collectors and traders, covering apps, games, memes and more.
Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Unlocked by Template Presentation.jpg

Research

The Solana validator landscape has changed drastically over the past year. The chain now has 1,332 active validators with 380.9 million SOL staked (63.9% of supply) as of February 2025. Validator revenue had diversified beyond inflationary rewards (still making up 55%) to include Jito tips (30%), priority fees (24%), and base fees (<1%), in January, especially with the increased activity on Solana. Since then, issuance has become dominant again (76%), while Jito tips (14%), priority fees (9%), and base fees (less than 1%) have reduced in share of February 2025. There has been a strong shift towards non-inflationary revenue sources, which have become more central to validator economics as priority fees and off-chain blockspace auctions gain traction. Client diversity has also improved drastically, with implementations such as Agave, Jito-Solana, and Frankendancer already in use, and upcoming clients like Firedancer and Sig expected to further strengthen resilience and reduce reliance on a single codebase.

article-image

BWR analyst Carlos Gonzalez Campo explains the consequences of SOL inflation and transfers lost to “leaky buckets”

article-image

Empire co-host Santiago Santos makes the case that memecoins have actually helped push infra forward…just not in the way you think

article-image

A16z Crypto lists seven buckets for tokens and recommendations for how to regulate them, in a filing submitted to the SEC

article-image

New model aims to resolve trading inefficiencies with a single execution layer and market maker changes

article-image

Investors navigating BTC face short-term unpredictability, influence from other markets

article-image

The GENIUS Act aims to establish regulatory guidelines for stablecoins