where did you read, that they "walk away" after release? they worked 1,5 years on that, would be a little bit strange if they would do this, its their baby.
Ah, I can't find the quote now, but it was from a video where he answered questions from the public.
Basically he said
"We are cryptographers and do this as a science project. Once the open code is out there, we will walk away from it and observe what the community does with it"
To me it seems that they are more interested in getting publications in scientific journals than actually establishing a new competitive Alt-coin.
I find the project very fascinating, so I hope I am wrong about this.
Translation: Somebody else will have to take the heat when the feds come knocking with special requests.