Vitalik Buterin details ‘large changes’ to Ethereum Foundation leadership amid calls for new leadership
2025-01-18
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Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said "large changes" to the leadership structure of the Ethereum Foundation (EF), the Switzerland-based nonprofit established by the blockchain network's original creators to promote Ethereum's interests and coordinate its developer community, are currently underway, though Buterin also emphasized that the organization's core mission will remain the same. 
Buterin, in a post on X, outlined a number of goals for the leadership changes, including improving the level of technical knowledge among EF leadership, improving communication with developers and users, bringing in fresh talent to improve "execution ability and speed," and broadening the EF's use of decentralized and privacy-centric technology. 
However, Buterin also pushed back on calls for the EF to take a more aggressive role in lobbying on behalf of Ethereum. If the EF were to start aggressively lobbying regulators, it could risk "compromising Ethereum's position as a global neutral platform," Buterin said. "These things aren't what EF does and this isn't going to change. People seeking a different vision are welcome to start their own [organizations]," Buterin wrote. 
Turmoil in the Ethereum community
Buterin's post comes in the wake of recent criticism of the Ethereum Foundation's activities and leadership, including from some highly influential individuals within the Ethereum community. That President-elect Trump chose to launch his official memecoin on Solana Friday night, rather than Ethereum, led to a fresh round of complaints on social media. 
Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, also the founder and CEO of Consensys, pitched two potential replacements for current EF executive director Aya Miyaguchi in an X post early Saturday. After praising Miyaguchi for her work in setting the foundation on a "healthy trajectory," Lubin called for new leadership, writing, "We are now in a very different kind of environment in our industry. And it requires a very different kind of Ethereum Foundation." 
Lubin floated replacing Miyaguchi with two co-leaders: Danny Ryan, a former EF researcher who oversaw the Merge (Ethereum's transition to a proof-of-stake consensus protocol), and Jerome de Tychey, the president of Ethereum France. 
"I believe that having Jerome and Danny partner to lead the EF would be a massive injection of energy, talent, outside the box thinking, creativity in marketing and drive — exactly what the Ethereum community needs today to show up for the world as the premiere, most diversely capable and most trusted blockchain ecosystem," Lubin wrote. 
Lubin's post referenced a post from de Tychey that outlined recommendations for the EF leadership, calling on the foundation to improve its communication and engagement and return to simple, bold messaging. "Ethereum’s strength lies in its ability to adapt and thrive through collaboration. Together, we will shape the next chapter of Ethereum and make it even stronger," de Tychey wrote. 
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