So far as I do know David Mills was the unique developer of NTP having authored RFC958 in 1985. He developed the reference implementation,

Nevertheless there are different unbiased implementations of the protocol, notably Chrony. There is no such thing as a motive to suspect that Mills retirement would have an effect on Chrony. It additionally appears that the reference NTPD implementation will survive.

The Bitcoin community protocols don’t have any interplay with NTP and Bitcoin node software program has no direct interplay with NTP. Bitcoin does not require exact time and works with a time variation between nodes of as much as a few hours. NTP offers for 2 computer systems clocks to be synchronised inside milliseconds over hundreds of miles. Bitcoin simply does not want that type of precision.

Even when NTP, GPS and different sources of correct time disappeared, I think Bitcoin might proceed working as long as individuals can set their pc’s clocks often by estimating midday inside ten minutes or so.