Ethereum (ETH +1.85%) Foundation Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi announced that the organization is accelerating efforts to create a formal policy to address potential conflicts of interest. This comes after two researchers disclosed receiving significant EigenLayer token incentives.
Miyaguchi emphasized the importance of the Ethereum Foundation’s credible neutrality. “The Ethereum Foundation’s credible neutrality is critical for us to perform our role in the ecosystem. We are aware of the current conversation about potential conflicts of interest, and share the community’s concerns,” Miyaguchi posted on X on Friday. She acknowledged that relying on culture and individual judgment has been insufficient, prompting the foundation to accelerate its work on a formal policy to address these issues, promising to share updates soon.
Lefteris Karapetsas, a former Ethereum software engineer and founder of the crypto portfolio tracking tool Rotki, suggested that the Ethereum Foundation should provide sufficient compensation to its colleagues
On May 19, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake revealed that he received a significant Eigen token incentive after becoming an advisor to the Eigen Foundation. This disclosure followed a discussion between Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and crypto trader Jordan Fish (Cobie) about potential conflicts of interest involving EigenLayer and the Ethereum Foundation, as core developers and researchers took advisory roles.
Drake disclosed that the advisorship came with a significant EIGEN token incentive, potentially worth more than all his other assets combined, mostly ETH. He estimated the tokens’ value in the millions of dollars, vesting over three years. Drake pledged to reinvest all proceeds into “worthy” Ethereum ecosystem projects as investments or donations. He noted that he accepted the role under the condition that his mandate was limited to researching restaking risks and that he would maintain a critical public stance on EigenLayer.
Two days later, fellow Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist disclosed becoming an advisor to EigenLayer under similar conditions as Drake but did not mention any investment or donation commitments. Feist clarified that his position was personal, not representing the Ethereum Foundation, with a focus on risks and decentralization, allowing him to take contrarian views on EigenLayer.
Drake mentioned that three people at the Ethereum Foundation had a formal relationship with EigenLayer—one as an investor and two as advisors. Assuming Feist was the other advisor Drake referred to, the investor has yet to be identified.