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Nine years after Ethereum’s most significant crisis—the controversial hard fork that reversed the infamous $50 million DAO hack —the network finds itself in a different kind of turmoil. This time, the existential dilemma revolves around leadership and governance, sparking division within the Ethereum community.
At the heart of the controversy is Aya Miyaguchi, Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation (EF) since 2018. A former Japanese high school teacher, Miyaguchi has championed a collaborative, Zen-inspired vision for Ethereum, advocating for an “infinite garden” where all stakeholders can coexist. However, as Ethereum struggles to maintain dominance against Solana, critics argue that her leadership has failed to steer the network effectively. Growing dissatisfaction has escalated into resignation demands —and even death threats.
Amid the rising tension, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin made a decisive move on Tuesday, announcing that he had taken control of the Ethereum Foundation. Condemning the relentless online attacks against Miyaguchi, he assured the community that a leadership restructuring was already in motion.
Buterin Takes Charge as Ethereum Faces Growing Competition
“The person making decisions about the new Ethereum Foundation (EF) leadership team is me” Vitalik Buterin declared on X. “One of the goals of this ongoing reform is to establish a proper board for the EF, but until that happens, I am in charge.”
Ethereum has faced numerous so-called “Ethereum killers” over the years – EOS, Cardano, Tezos, and others—but only Solana has come close to fulfilling that title.
With its proof-of-history consensus mechanism, Solana has grown into the fifth-largest blockchain, amassing a market capitalization of $126 billion —roughly one-third of Ethereum’s $394 billion valuation. At the time of reporting, SOL had surged nearly 30% in a week, largely fueled by the market frenzy surrounding Donald Trump’s unexpected memecoin launch on Friday. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s ETH slipped 3% over the same period, according to Coingecko data.
Ethereum’s community is growing restless, citing poor price performance and a lack of major protocol upgrades since its transition to proof-of-stake nearly three years ago. These frustrations have fueled dissatisfaction with the network’s leadership and its ability to stay competitive.
The absence of a dedicated technical leader at the Ethereum Foundation has become a significant concern, and former protocol researcher Danny Ryan is widely viewed as the natural successor to Miyaguchi once the leadership restructuring is complete.
“I engaged in conversations with Vitalik and other EF members about these changes and the possibility of contributing to this new era,” Ryan explained. “I truly appreciate the overwhelming support I’ve received from Twitter as well as from many long-time friends and colleagues.”
Meanwhile, Miyaguchi has remained notably quiet amid the criticism. Her last post on X, dated January 18, conveyed a sense of optimism about the upcoming management overhaul. “We’ve been working on this for a year,” she wrote. “I’m excited to finally be able to share more news about it soon.”
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