A court hearing has taken place in Singapore in the dispute over the future of Cake. The founders and opponents Julian Hosp and U-Zyn Chua present opposing views on the situation. The Cake project DeFiChain is suffering.
When two fight, does the third rejoice? In the case of Cake, the saying doesn’t apply. Since the company’s founders, Julian Hosp and U-Zyn Chua, have been publicly fighting each other in court, the price curve of DeFiChain (DFI) has continued to plummet, reaching a new all-time low at the weekend – and DeFiChain is Cake’s flagship project. We have been following the painful story of Cake (formerly Bake), DeFiChain and Julian Hosp for years now, including the court case brought by U-Zyn Chua in December 2023. Another hearing has now taken place there and the situation has not become any easier as a result. Taking stock:
Following the court hearing, both U-Zyn Chua and Julian used Hosp X to give their side of the story. U-Zyn Chua was present in court himself (here his post on X), Julian Hosp sent his lawyers alone (here his X post). There is also an eyewitness report that appeared on Reddit here.
DeFiChain has become a bottomless pit
If you are not familiar with the history of the conflict, you need a little background information. In essence, U-Zyn Chua filed for Cake’s liquidation, citing unresolvable conflicts with Julian Hosp as the reason. When the court wanted to make a decision at the end of February after extending the deadline, Hosp surprised everyone at short notice with the offer that his business partner could take over Cake completely and pay him (plus his wife Bettina) off.
U-Zyn Chua now writes that Hosp is playing for time – and he in turn replies that it is U-Zyn Chua who is playing dubious side games instead of concluding a takeover. The eyewitness report gives an idea of what is meant by side games. Hosp apparently experienced a police raid on his home in Singapore. Hosp says he is cooperating with the authorities – U-Zyn Chua feels denied by Hosp. One thing is clear: In the city-state of Singapore with draconian penalties for drug use or adultery, for example, U-Zyn Chua has a passport, while Julian Hosp is only a newcomer. The Ministry of Immigration is also said to be investigating Hosp. Hosp, on the other hand, contradicts rumors that he has turned his back on Singapore completely by moving out of his city villa.
Julian Hosp and U-Zyn Chua forget good manners
And if you read the posts by Hosp and U-Zyn Chua, it goes on and on. The blame for the misery of the future of Cake and therefore also DeFiChain is placed on the other side. There is no shortage of blows below the belt and no transparency about the business aspects.
This is why the eyewitness report is so interesting for observers. It is posted anonymously, but the person describes himself as an employee of Cake. The account of the court hearing, which lasted several hours, appears as neutral as it can be from one of the remaining Cake employees. The rift between Julian Hosp and U-Zyn Chua became public during a job cut in November 2023, when Hosp left his co-founder on the sidelines. Since then, U-Zyn Chua has no longer had any power in the company as CTO of Cake.
The eyewitness is therefore on Hosp’s side and makes no secret of it. He writes that he was joined in the courtroom by 15 other Cake colleagues as spectators, where they finally witnessed a wife of U-Zyn Chua who attracted attention by shouting. But he also describes how the judge repeatedly put his finger on the same point in the search for truth and decision-making: “Why is it that the two parties cannot agree with each other?”
Takeover bid at DeFiChain just a pretext?
U-Zyn Chua had already accepted the takeover offer from Cake, even on Hosp’s financial terms. However, there seems to have been no agreement on how to deal with Hosp’s wife Bettina’s shares. Meanwhile, it seems that Hosp himself wants to continue with Cake, as he is already posting big plans for DeFiChain for the current quarter.
If that’s not enough mud-slinging for you, the eyewitness report also contains allegations of misuse of company funds for private purposes and stories from the days when Julian Hosp and U-Zyn Chua felt like an inseparable power couple. Hosp the marketing machine and U-Zyn Chua the technical genius – that must have been how the two of them once excelled, and we can also think of their joint Bitcoin Ordinals project Ordzaar.
Conclusion: Hosp and U-Zyn Chua settle accounts on the backs of investors
There is also Julian Hosp’s request to convert the oral proceedings into a written one or the victim role that U-Zyn Chua is determined to take on – both sides are acting destructively and all the details from the inner workings of Cake are chilling. The well-connected DeFiChain critic Lorena B. suspects on X that Julian Hosp will ultimately turn out to be a (bigger) liar and has his backstory from TenX in mind.
But even a court ruling will hardly help investors. DeFiChain’s price curve has long since fallen into the well rather than the valley. The judge in charge of Cake and the legal war between U-Zyn Chua and Julian Hosp is now set to hand down a verdict – but anyone familiar with the story would no longer be surprised by new quibbles and further hearings. Considering that the two strong egos are juggling millions of dollars, the results speak for themselves.
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