The Ethereum Foundation is under scrutiny following the resurfacing of a May 2024 letter from a former core developer.
In the document, the developer lambasted the EF’s organizational culture, accusing it of fostering an elite-driven power structure centered on co-founder Vitalik Buterin while marginalizing key contributors through inadequate compensation.
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What’s Really Happening Inside the Ethereum Foundation?
Péter Szilágyi, who led Geth (Go Ethereum) from 2015 until his departure in 2025 publicly shared a letter he wrote to the Ethereum Foundation on May 22, 2024. In it, he highlighted three main pain points, voicing deep dissatisfaction with the Foundation’s governance, compensation structure, and overall direction.
First, Szilágyi revealed that he struggled with a disconnect between how the EF portrays his role and how it treats him internally. While the Foundation publicly presented him as a key leader embodying Ethereum’s open values, he claimed his input was often dismissed behind closed doors.
Szilágyi also voiced centralization concerns. The developer accused Buterin of holding indirect but absolute influence over Ethereum’s ecosystem. According to Szilágyi, Buterin’s opinions, attention, and investments largely determined which projects thrive.
Szilágyi claimed that the ‘small ruling elite’ of 5-10 people around Buterin—held power in shaping the network’s direction. This concentration of power, he argued, contradicts Ethereum’s founding principle of open participation and equality.
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Furthermore, Szilágyi criticized EF’s financial practices. He stressed that EF systematically underpaid the very people who built and maintained the network’s core infrastructure.
Szilágyi highlighted that over his first six years at the Foundation—while Ethereum’s market capitalization grew to hundreds of billions of dollars—his total earnings amounted to only $625 000 before taxes, with no incentives or equity.
Previosly, Szilágyi also alleged that the EF pressured the Geth team to spin out as an independent entity, offering $5 million to facilitate the separation.
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Former Developer’s Letter Sparks Backlash Against Ethereum Foundation
Meanwhile, the revelations sparked intense criticism of the Ethereum Foundation from the community. Szilágyi’s comments about pay gaps quickly became a flashpoint, with many questioning how the foundation has been using its vast resources.
Sandeep Nailwal, CEO and co-founder of Polygon, also publicly questioned his loyalty to Ethereum. He expressed frustration over the lack of support from both the Ethereum Foundation and its core community.
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Nailwal described the environment as exclusionary and noted a growing disconnect between Ethereum’s founding ideals and the way it treats major contributors like Polygon.
In response, Buterin sought to defuse tensions, posting a lengthy commendation of Nailwal and Polygon on X.
The executive praised Polygon for hosting Polymarket, supporting high-scalability applications and investing early resources in ZK-EVM research and developing key infrastructure like AggLayer. He also commended Nailwal for his philanthropy, including his leadership in CryptoRelief and returning $190 million in SHIB proceeds, which funded Buterin’s Balvi anti-pandemic initiative.
Nonetheless, neither the Ethereum Foundation nor Buterin have commented on the claims laid out in Szilágyi’s letter. The community now awaits Ethereum’s next actions, which could set major precedents for blockchain governance worldwide.
Source: https://beincrypto.com/ethereum-foundation-centralization-pay-dev-tensions/
