Former Ethereum researcher proposes replacing Ethereum Foundation

A prominent former developer has proposed replacing the Ethereum Foundation with a new, commercially focused organization, intensifying a debate over the network's governance and strategic direction. Dankrad Feist, a former senior researcher known for his work on the Danksharding scalability design, argued in a public statement that the community needs to create an entity that is economically aligned with Ethereum and accountable to it.

Feist's proposal, made on Thursday, calls for a new organization funded with a minimum of 1 billion, supported in part by revenue from the network's staking mechanism. He stated that the current foundation holds less than 0.1% of the total ETH supply and receives no income from transaction fees or validator staking, which he believes limits its ability to influence the market. The proposed entity would be led by a board accountable to the community with a mandate to execute commercial strategies aimed at supporting the cryptocurrency's market value.

The suggestion comes amid a period of significant staff departures from the Ethereum Foundation. This week, researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma resigned from their positions. Previously, researcher...