Ethereum Foundation Announces Restructuring and DeFi Integration Plans

TLDR

• Ethereum Foundation initiates major organizational changes amid community pressure and criticism
• Vitalik Buterin confirms ongoing reforms while rejecting aggressive lobbying and ideological shifts
• Foundation sets up $165M ETH wallet for DeFi ecosystem participation
• Buterin adopts Milady NFT profile picture in surprising move towards crypto culture
• Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi faces public pressure to resign, with Buterin defending leadership decisions

The Ethereum Foundation is undergoing major changes in early 2025, with founder Vitalik Buterin taking a more active role in steering the organization’s direction while facing mounting pressure from the cryptocurrency community.

Last week, the Foundation began showing signs of transformation by adopting a more casual and engaging tone on its social media accounts. This shift sparked rumors about potential leadership changes, particularly regarding Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi’s position.

No. This is not how this game works.

The person deciding the new EF leadership team is me. One of the goals of the ongoing reform is to give the EF a “proper board”, but until that happens it’s me.

If you “keep the pressure on”, then you are creating an environment that is…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 21, 2025

Buterin addressed these speculations head-on, confirming that the Foundation has been implementing “large changes” over the past year. These modifications aim to strengthen connections with app developers and everyday users within the Ethereum ecosystem.

The Foundation made a clear statement about its financial commitment to the ecosystem on Monday by creating a wallet containing 50,000 ETH, valued at approximately $165 million. This fund will support various decentralized finance projects built on Ethereum, earning praise from industry leaders like Aave founder Stani Kulechov.

In a surprising move that caught many off guard, Buterin changed his social media profile picture to a Milady NFT after being prompted by the collection’s creator, Charlotte Fang. This decision marked an unusual departure from his typically reserved approach to crypto culture.

However, Buterin has drawn a firm line regarding certain changes the community has demanded. He explicitly rejected calls to pursue aggressive regulatory lobbying or embrace what he termed a “bronze age mindset” mentality, distinguishing Ethereum’s approach from other crypto projects currently seeking political influence.

The pressure on Executive Director Miyaguchi has intensified, with some community members calling for her resignation. These critics have linked leadership changes to potential price improvements for ETH, which has remained relatively stable during a period of growth for other cryptocurrencies.

We got some momentum here. With @AyaMiyagotchi resigning $ETH can reach ATH in 2 weeks.

— CoinMamba (@coinmamba) January 19, 2025

Buterin responded strongly to these demands, defending the Foundation’s leadership and warning that hostile behavior creates a toxic environment that drives away talented developers. He emphasized that he alone holds the authority to make decisions about the organization’s future leadership.

The Foundation’s new DeFi initiative represents a practical step toward greater ecosystem involvement. The allocation of 50,000 ETH demonstrates a commitment to supporting decentralized finance projects and engaging directly with the platforms built on Ethereum.

Communication changes at the Foundation have become more apparent, with its official social media accounts adopting a more casual tone. A recent post simply stating “hello world computer” exemplified this shift toward more accessible messaging.

Technical expertise remains a priority in the Foundation’s restructuring plans. Community members have suggested researcher Danny Ryan as a potential leadership candidate, citing his contributions to Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake consensus.

Some critics have raised concerns about centralization, particularly regarding Buterin’s strong stance on maintaining control over Foundation decisions. Market commentator abstractXBT suggested focusing more on practical support through hackathons and grants rather than leadership debates.

The person deciding the new EF leadership team is me.

The future of the world computer is centralized???

V that’s not the tweet

This meta it’s about support builders, less philosophical blogs, more hackathons and grants to grassroot ETH builders.

Shill more gud tech projects… https://t.co/9ULmQMhh4z pic.twitter.com/LChAwK1IfM

— abstractXBT (@abstractxbt) January 21, 2025

The Foundation’s financial practices have also faced scrutiny, with questions arising about its management of ETH holdings and decisions regarding asset liquidation versus staking opportunities.

Buterin has clarified that while changes are ongoing, they will happen on the Foundation’s terms rather than in response to social media pressure. He described plans to establish a “proper board” for the Foundation while maintaining his role as the final decision-maker on leadership matters.

The Foundation’s relationship with other Ethereum ecosystem organizations may also evolve, with Buterin suggesting that groups like Consensys could take on additional responsibilities in the future.

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