Vitalik claims sole authority over Ethereum Foundation leadership
2025-01-21
Category: None

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin reaffirmed his authority over the Ethereum Foundation in an X post on Jan. 21, where he dismissed all calls for a leadership shakeup.
Buterin said that the decision remains his until planned reforms to introduce a “proper board” and criticized certain crypto community members for “actively toxic to top talent.”
The comments follow a strong wave of community pressure to promote Danny Ryan, a researcher and developer within the Ethereum ecosystem and criticism of current Ethereum Foundation executive director Aya Miyaguchi.
Some X community members have resorted to harassment and death threats against Miyaguchi, which Buterin strongly condemned as “pure evil.”
Community pushes for Danny Ryan
Buterin’s X post is in response to calls for Ryan to be elevated to a leadership role within the foundation — something Buterin made clear remains his responsibility and his alone.
Advocates for Ryan point to his contributions to the development of Ethereum and his leadership in the Ethereum consensus layer upgrade, which transitioned the network from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS).
Ryan’s supporters argue that his expertise aligns with Ethereum’s long-term goals and positions him as a suitable leader despite Buterin’s stance on the foundation’s leadership.
Toxicity in the leadership debate
The leadership debate has also exposed a darker side of the Ethereum community, with Buterin specifically addressing harassment directed at Miyaguchi, who has served as execute director since 2018.
Miyaguchi has faced targeted criticism online, with some community members on X blaming her for perceived inefficiencies within the foundation and one X user asking, “Why don’t we kill Aya.”
Buterin condemned the toxic community behavior, warning that it risks alienating Ethereum’s top talent, creating a counterproductive environment and dismissed social media pressures:
Buterin leadership changes for EF 
The Ethereum co-founder announced significant changes to the foundation’s leadership on Jan. 18 to improve communication between the foundation and builders in the ecosystem.
Buterin outlined goals, including supporting decentralized application (DApp) developers, censorship resistance, privacy and promoting decentralization — the polar opposite of his statement asserting sole authority over the foundation on Jan. 20.
In his Jan. 18 X post, Buterin said the foundation would not engage in ideological shifts or political lobbying or take a more central role in developing the Ethereum ecosystem.