The man who inspired Chris Poole to create 4chan now owns 4chan.

Poole, who stepped down in January, has announced that he sold the site to Hiroyuki Nishimura, founder of Japanese message board site 2channel.

And according to Poole, the main inspiration for the creation of 4chan.

“Hiroyuki is a pioneer in the world of anonymous communities, and can be thought of as the great-grandfather of 4chan. His creation of 2channel in 1999 sparked an era of anonymous-centric web culture in Japan that led to the creation of Futaba Channel, the site that inspired 4chan. None of us would be using 4chan today—or potentially any anonymous image board—if it weren’t for him,” says Poole (moot) in a post.

“I met Hiroyuki in 2011 and we became fast friends, bonding over our shared passion for creating and managing online communities. He is one of few individuals with a deep understanding of what it means to provide a digital home for tens of millions of people for more than a decade. There is nobody more qualified than Hiroyuki to lead 4chan, and I can’t think of a person better suited for the task.”

Poole left his role as 4chan admin earlier this year, saying it was time for him to move on.

According to him, Nishimura is the man to take 4chan past its 2 billionth post.

“4chan sits on the eve of two great milestones—its 2 billionth post and 12th birthday. It has been a great privilege to serve as 4chan’s founder and steward for almost twelve years, and I can’t wait to see what lays in store under Hiroyuki’s experienced leadership,” says Poole.

Image via Joichi Ito, Wikimedia Commons (Nishimura in 2005)