Former Ethereum Foundation developer questions Buterin's influence, sparking debate
Quick Take Péter Szilágyi, a former lead developer at the Ethereum Foundation, has ignited debate within the crypto community by publishing a letter he sent to Ethereum Foundation leadership last year. In the letter, Szilágyi questioned Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s outsized influence over the ecosystem.
Péter Szilágyi, a former lead developer of Geth at the Ethereum Foundation, has ignited debate within the crypto community by publishing a letter he sent to Ethereum Foundation leadership last year, questioning Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin's outsized influence over the ecosystem.
In the letter , disclosed Sunday, Szilágyi claimed that most Ethereum projects were controlled by a tight-knit group of five to 10 individuals backed by one to three venture capital firms. According to Szilágyi, the success of new projects depends heavily on their relationships with this inner circle.
"Ethereum's direction always boiled down to your relationship with Vitalik," Szilágyi said.
The letter also warned that access to fundraising and internal project approval channels leaves the Ethereum Foundation vulnerable to capture by aligned interests.
Szilágyi noted that his total compensation over six years at the Foundation amounted to just around $625,000 even as Ethereum's market value grew into the hundreds of billions during that period, pointing out another issue of disparity between compensation for workers and high rollers at the foundation.
Amid ongoing debate surrounding the foundation, Sandeep Nailwal, CEO of Polygon Foundation, said Monday on X that he has "started questioning" his loyalty toward Ethereum. "I/we never got any direct support from the EF or the Ethereum CT community — in fact, the reverse. But I have always felt moral loyalty towards Ethereum even if [it] costs me billions of dollars in Polygon's valuation perhaps."
Andre Cronje, co-founder of Sonic Labs, also weighed in on X, criticizing the foundation's lack of communication and detailing his own difficulty getting a response from its leadership.
The Block has reached out to the Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin for comment.
While Buterin did not publicly comment on the topic, he posted a message on X praising Polygon and its co-founder Sandeep Nailwal for their contribution to Ethereum. Buterin highlighted Polygon's early investment in zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine development, specifically mentioning Jordi Baylina's team and infrastructure projects like AggLayer.
In recent months, the Ethereum Foundation has undergone major restructuring . It announced a round of developer layoffs in June and released a blog post detailing a new strategy for managing and allocating its remaining ETH reserves.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
CoreWeave, the "Eye of the Storm" in the Latest AI Crash amid "Double Blow to Stocks and Bonds"
CoreWeave's stock price plummeted 25% in a single week, with junk bond yields soaring to 15% and the default probability exceeding 60%, triggering a financing crisis in AI infrastructure. This "double whammy" in both stocks and bonds has led to an 11% drop in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the Nasdaq 100 experiencing its worst weekly performance of the year. Market participants warn that this marks a turning point in AI hype credit pricing—the high-leverage, heavy-debt expansion model is now facing a severe test amid elevated interest rates.
Japan taps Chainlink’s CCIP to accelerate tokenization — Details
Bank of America’s Hartnett, who accurately predicted major declines: “Sell signal” is over, investors will "return to tech stocks in mid-November”, the key lies in “chip prices”
Bank of America’s “sell signal” has ended, but this is by no means a call to bottom fish. Currently, the AI financing gap is widening, and technology stocks are extremely crowded. Strategists warn that the key to whether technology stocks can rebound in November depends entirely on “semiconductor prices.” In the short term, it is advised to avoid technology stocks, maintain a defensive stance, and position in small caps and REITs.
Crypto prices
More
