'You are making my job harder': Vitalik Buterin hits back at pressure over Ethereum Foundation leadership changes

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin hit back at rising calls for the resignation of current Ethereum Foundation director Aya Miyaguchi, suggesting it only made changes to the Switzerland-based nonprofit harder.

“No. This is not how this game works,” Buterin responded on X to a post from one community member urging continued pressure for Miyaguchi to resign. Buterin explained that while one of the goals in reforming the EF going forward was establishing a "proper board," he is the only person deciding the new leadership team until that happens.

Buterin poured scorn on what he described as an “attempted scapegoat attack” on Miyaguchi, referring to a translation of a Wired Japan interview that had wrongly suggested she was against a culture of competing and winning.

Buterin went on to decry other derogatory comments and posts as “pure evil,” explaining that such actions are “decreasing the chance I have any interest whatsoever in doing ‘what you want.’”

“If you ‘keep the pressure on’, then you are creating an environment that is actively toxic to top talent,” Buterin wrote. “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.”

The Ethereum Foundation was established by the blockchain's original creators to promote Ethereum's interests and coordinate its developer community.

‘Large changes’ anticipated at the Ethereum Foundation

Last week, the Ethereum co-founder said “ large changes ” to the leadership structure of the EF are underway. Buterin outlined several goals, including expanding the level of technical knowledge among EF leadership, improving communication with developers and users, bringing in fresh talent to boost "execution ability and speed" and broadening the EF's use of decentralized and privacy-centric technology. 

However, Buterin also pushed back on calls for the EF to take a more aggressive role in lobbying on behalf of Ethereum. If the EF were to start aggressively lobbying regulators, it could risk "compromising Ethereum's position as a global neutral platform," Buterin said at the time. "These things aren't what EF does and this isn't going to change."

Buterin's posts come in the wake of recent criticism of the Ethereum Foundation's activities and leadership, including from some highly influential individuals within the Ethereum community. Many suggested Danny Ryan, a former EF researcher who oversaw the Merge (Ethereum's transition to a proof-of-stake consensus protocol), and Jerome de Tychey, the president of Ethereum France, as replacements for Miyaguchi. 

The foundation has also come under heavy criticism recently for its seeming lack of participation in the Ethereum ecosystem. However, on Monday, Buterin suggested the Ethereum Foundation is exploring the idea of staking its nearly $1 billion in holdings, citing reduced regulatory risk.