Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin reaffirmed his authority over the Ethereum Foundation in an X post on Jan. 21, in which 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.”
Source: Vitalik Buterin
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Community pushes for Danny Ryan
Buterin’s X post is in response to calls for Ryan to be named to a leadership role within the foundation — something Buterin made clear remains his responsibility 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.
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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 executive 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.”
Source: Tetranode
Buterin condemned the toxic community behavior, warning that it risks alienating Ethereum’s top talent, creating a counterproductive environment, and dismissed social media pressures:
“Some of Ethereum’s best devs have been messaging me recently, expressing their disgust with the social media environment that people like you are creating. YOU ARE MAKING MY JOB HARDER. And you are decreasing the chance I have any interest whatsoever in doing ‘what you want.’”
Related: Vitalik Buterin announces leadership changes for Ethereum Foundation
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 — a contrast to 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.
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