Community users demand the resignation of the current director of the EF, Aya Miyaguchi.
Ryan confirmed that he has started talks with Vitalik Buterin to resume his role at Ethereum.
“You’re making my job harder.” These were the words of Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), who made a defense on January 21, 2025 in a publication on X against a member of the community of this network, who expressed himself in favor of a change leadership at the Ethereum Foundation (EF).
The EF is a non-profit organization that is responsible for supporting and promoting the development of Ethereum. Faced with the demand for a new leader in that space, Buterin made it clear that “the person who decides who the EF leadership team will be is me.”
Vitalik he questioned the actions of this participant given that he would be generating an “actively toxic” environment for the developers could carry out their task.
What’s happening at the Ethereum Foundation?
Days ago, more precisely on January 18, Vitalik had explained some of the goals that are planned to be executed in the EF. Among them, assured who are working on “major structural changes in the leadership of the Ethereum Foundation.”
Vitalik’s response on January 21 was to one of the many posts from users of the Ethereum ecosystem asking for the resignation of the current director of the EF, Aya Miyaguchi.
On January 19, the trader under the pseudonym “CoinMamba” had stated that, in the face of Miyaguchi’s withdrawal, the price of ether, token native of the network, would reach a new all-time high (ATH) “in two weeks”, suggesting that the leader makes changes in the organization difficult. In addition to this, CoinMamba opined that “if we keep pushing, she will resign.”
A day later, another user, named “DCInvestor” in X, proposed that “the number 1 priority of the EF” had to pass because their new leader is Danny Ryana researcher and developer of the Ethereum ecosystem. Ryan’s relationship with the EF is based on his work on Ethereum, being one of the main coordinators of the development of Ethereum 2.0. Now many users in the community are speaking out in favor of him leading the Ethereum Foundation.
Ethereum 2.0, also known as Serenity, is a term used to describe a set of fundamental improvements and updates planned for this network, including the transition from the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus protocol to Proof of Stake ( PoS).
DCInvestor’s suggestion, promoting Ryan’s application to the EF, occurred in response to what another member explained from the Ethereum community:
“The current Ethereum upgrade process is broken. Developers need long-term commitment, otherwise they can’t build on Ethereum. They need to know what the plan is for 5 years from now. So I hope we can finally agree on deadlines in the core development process.”
Ethereum user on X.
Like DCInvestor, others users They support the idea of Ryan directing the Ethereum Foundation.
Danny Ryan started talks with Vitalik to return to Ethereum
For his part, on January 21, Danny Ryan himself explained through his X account that he had started conversations with Vitalik to get involved again with the development of Ethereum and the EF.
“I opened a dialogue with Vitalik and others at the EF about these changes and the possibility of being involved in this new era. “These discussions began long before last week and continue.”
Danny Ryan in X.
Recalling that he had resigned from his role in the EF a year ago due to “health problems and in an attempt to clear my mind,” Ryan was grateful for the support received from the community, although criticized how some of the users expressed themselves.
“I am grateful for the overwhelming support I have received from Twitter and many longtime friends and colleagues. However, some of the discourse has become counterproductive. I believe in a community that fights its battles with respect and reason. So, fight for what you believe in, but please take the right path.”
Danny Ryan in X.
Members of the Ethereum community would be giving up on it
While all this was happening, in the middle of this tense climate within the Ethereum community, some of its participants (hours before Ryan’s statements) did not hesitate to show their discontent and reflect a criticism of the current leadership of the EF.
Such is the case of the member of this community, called in Eric Conner. This user removed from his social network account name the characteristic ending of members of the Ethereum ecosystem: “.eth.”
In addition, he left a strong message:
“Maybe one day those in leadership roles will realign with the community, but for now, I’m out. Deep down, I really hope Ethereum succeeds. Good luck.”
Eric Conner in X.
Thus, while Vitalik tries to calm the spirits of some users, the Ethereum Foundation is going through hours of important definitions that could imply changes in its structure and in the future development of Ethereum. Will this have an impact on the price of ether? It remains to be seen…