Aya Miyaguchi, the Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation, has announced the acceleration of a formal policy development to address concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest. The foundation had previously relied on culture and individual judgment to prevent conflicts of interest, but Miyaguchi admits that this approach was not sufficient. Therefore, the foundation is working on a formal policy to address these issues and will expedite its completion.
The controversy began when Jordan Fish, a well-known cryptocurrency trader known as Cobie, publicly challenged Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin about the ethical implications of Ethereum Foundation developers accepting financial incentives from projects built on the Ethereum network. Cobie specifically mentioned EigenLayer as a potential conflict of interest, questioning the appropriateness of Ethereum Foundation developers becoming advisors to such projects given the conflicting incentives.
In response to Cobie’s remarks, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake disclosed that he held an advisory role at EigenLayer and had received a significant incentive in Eigen tokens. This raised concerns about transparency and potential conflicts of interest between EigenLayer and the Ethereum Foundation. Drake clarified that this information had been public since May 3 and the timing of his disclosure with Cobie’s tweet was coincidental.
Another Ethereum Foundation researcher, Dankrad Feist, also revealed his advisory role at EigenLayer and admitted to receiving a significant number of EIGEN tokens. Despite his advisory role, Feist assured the community that his involvement would not affect his professional judgments or positions on the development of EigenLayer or related Ethereum projects.
These disclosures have intensified scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest, particularly regarding the systemic risks that EigenLayer might pose to Ethereum. EigenLayer is a platform that allows users to deposit and “re-stake” Ether from various liquid staking tokens to secure third-party networks or validated services.
To address these concerns, both Drake and Feist have taken steps to mitigate any perceived conflicts. Drake has committed to reinvesting or donating all proceeds from his advisory role to beneficial projects within the Ethereum ecosystem and pledged to sever ties with EigenLayer should conflicts with Ethereum’s broader interests arise. Feist emphasized that his advisory position was personal and independent of his responsibilities at the Ethereum Foundation. He vowed to prioritize decentralization and risk management, urging the community to hold him accountable to ensure his advisory role does not compromise his work on Ethereum’s core protocol.
The introduction of a conflict of interest policy by the Ethereum Foundation is a strategic move to restore trust and ensure ethical governance within the community. Miyaguchi has committed to swiftly finalizing and implementing this policy, promising forthcoming updates to further promote transparency and accountability as the blockchain and cryptocurrency landscape continues to evolve. This initiative marks a critical step towards aligning the foundation’s internal practices with its public responsibilities and the expectations of its global stakeholder community.
