99% of Big ETH Holders Want Danny Ryan as Ethereum Foundation Boss

• So far, 553 voters holding 51,249 ETH worth $160 million have voted to see Danny Ryan become the sole leader of the Ethereum Foundation; 99.98% have voted “Yes.”
• Danny Ryan is a notable Ethereum researcher and developer who was crucial in upgrading ETH from PoW to PoS.
• Joseph Lubin has suggested a co-led effort alongside Ethereum France President, Jerome de Tychey.

Ethereum’s (ETH) leaders may be facing a clash with its community as some wealthy ETH holders hold an informal on-chain vote to see decorated researcher and developer Danny Ryan take charge of the Ethereum Foundation (EF).

However, the EF and network’s leadership may have other ideas in mind.

Ethereum Foundation Leadership

An informal on-chain vote to determine if one of Ethereum’s most influential researchers/developers Danny Ryan will take charge as the sole head of the EF has garnered votes from 553 holders. They collectively hold 51,247.81 ETH, or roughly $160 million between them.

Averaging around $290,000, these participants believe that Ryan, who was instrumental in taking Ethereum from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS), is the man for the job.

Ryan, who indefinitely departed from his work on Ethereum Layer-1 (L1) research and development in September 2024, also departed from the EF citing health issues. In light of the recent controversies surrounding the future of the EF, Ryan posted on X on Jan. 21 to note his excitement about the EF entering a “new era”.

He says he’s spoken with Vitalik and other EF members about the possibility of his involvement with the EF in the future. While he is grateful for the support he’s received, he believes some of the discourse is now becoming counterproductive.

“With or without me, the EF is evolving and for the better. You’ve been heard, but vitriol is ultimately harmful to this process.“

Fabrice Cheng created the website as a fair way for the ETH community to express their views on the issue, albeit through a binary Yes/No single-candidate vote.

Alternative Leadership Proposals

Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum, the EF, and ConsenSys,  praised Ryan’s abilities and advocated for his candidacy as EF head. However, he suggested a co-led effort alongside Cometh CEO and Ethereum France President Jerome de Tychey.

“I believe that having Jerome and Danny partner to lead the EF would be a massive injection of energy, talent, outside the box thinking, creativity in marketing and drive — exactly what the Ethereum community needs today to show up for the world as the premiere, most diversely capable and most trusted blockchain ecosystem.“

So far, Ethereum co-founder and figurehead Vitalik Buterin has been quiet on the developments. This is a rather drastic shift in approach from Buterin, who had  previously attempted to handle the situation by declaring he’d be the only person deciding on the new EF head.