The Ethereum Foundation is a paradox. Despite its commitment to decentralization, it operates as a centralized entity, with a director, a treasury, paid developers, and an inner circle. These structures, while necessary for coordination, create tensions with Ethereum’s decentralized ethos.
The Foundation Today
It is not widely known, but the current foundation was constructed in a less than ideal way. The previous director, Ming, was ousted in a coordinated effort by a group of people who have never been publicly identified or held accountable for it. I spoke with Ming days before her removal and she assured me she had no intent of leaving. I was later given information about who was responsible for her removal, but was not given much insight as to why. I have heard that Ming was a bit of a micromanager, and that she had an intensity that rubbed some people the wrong way. I’m sure there’s truth to that, but these stories are often window dressing for deeper truths.
I can infer some good-faith reasons based on the way the org has been run over the past seven years. A very important role of the organization is to protect against internal power struggles as well as external capture. These are noble goals and ones they seem to have accomplished effectively.
Another major focus seems to have been minimizing the public footprint of the organization and constructing it in such a way that it would not draw the ire of governments who might hold them accountable if the political winds shifted against them. But as political winds shift, and the marketplace provides alternatives, the organization itself must adapt, both in form and function.
Ethereum was in its birth a visionary project, not simply technological in nature. It pointed towards a possibility of previously unimaginable futures through the empowerment of the individual to do what had previously taken billions of dollars, thousands of people, or millions of man hours to accomplish.
The Ethereum Foundation, in its current incarnation, designed to minimize threats both internal and external, has lost that vision.
Lead with Vision
Ethereum’s next phase demands more than just technical research and coordinating conferences. It requires visionary leadership — someone who understands not just the technology but its broader social, philosophical, and political implications. This leader must
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Author: Anthony DOnofrio
