Ethereum bulls clash over manifesto ‘180’ that reaffirms cypherpunk ideals

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GM, Tim here.

A Friday manifesto from the Ethereum Foundation has driven a wedge between the blockchain’s most ardent supporters.

The 38-page document reaffirms the foundation’s commitment to cypherpunk principles — censorship resistance, open source, privacy, and security — as non-negotiable foundations.

The issue? Many Ethereum backers say it signals that the nonprofit is turning its back on the transformation it made under Tomasz Stańczak, who resigned as co-executive director last month.

During his tenure, Stańczak worked to help Ethereum achieve greater commercial success through pioneering business development, engaging institutions, and supporting those building apps on the blockchain — many initiatives that are now coming into fruition with Wall Street’s adoption of the blockchain.

“The EF Mandate is a 180 from the direction the Foundation was heading under the recent leadership changes,” said Kydo, a DeFi veteran and chief of staff at Eigen Labs.

“A few months ago, the signal was clear — lean into real-world adoption, support stablecoins, engage with institutions, help Ethereum win the race for relevance. Tomasz was brought in to operationalise that pivot. This document effectively undoes most of it.”

Other prominent critics of the new mandate include Dankrad Feist, a former Ethereum Foundation researcher; Mason Nystrom, an investor at Pantera Capital; and Yuga Cohler, a senior engineering manager at Coinbase.

Many Ethereum believers are frustrated that the main guiding force behind the $280 billion blockchain appears to be more focused on ideology than prioritising commercial success.

They often cite Ethereum’s lagging price as the most visible victim.

Since the bottom of the previous crypto bear market, Bitcoin has rallied some 348% while Ethereum has gained just 130%.

‘Unhinged’

When Ethereum was launched all the way back in 2015, its goals were to create a neutral platform for decentralised apps and promote trust minimisation and security.

But as the years went by, rival blockchains popped up trying to outcompete Ethereum by offering faster transactions and cheaper fees.

At the same time, interest in blockchain technology from traditional financial institutions put additional pressure on Ethereum to commercialise, lest it be overtaken and outcompeted by one of those upstart rivals.

“This manifesto is so unhinged,” Awa Sun Yin, co-founder of blockchain interoperability project Anoma, said.

“It’s not written by an organisation that’s finally growing up. Quite the opposite, it looks like the organisation is stuck in their idealistic adolescence while completely ignoring the reality of what’s needed to further the industry.”

‘Principles matter’

In contrast, those on the other side of the argument say Ethereum — and blockchain technology in general — shouldn’t allow itself to be co-opted by an industry that it was designed to compete against.

“The mission is so simple, yet so powerful: Make the individual unruggable,” Pascal Caversaccio, an independent Ethereum security researcher, said.

“Not by fucking governments. Not by fucking corporations. Not by fucking institutions. Principles matter because without them every system eventually becomes another way to fucking control people.”

The debate between ideology and commercial success is becoming a heated issue as Ethereum faces competition from a cohort of new commercially focused blockchains.

They include Tempo, a stablecoin-focused blockchain backed by payments giant Stripe, and Canton Network, a blockchain aimed at financial institutions and backed by major banks including Goldman Sachs, among others.

Yet as traditional finance becomes more and more entangled with the crypto industry, the Ethereum Foundation may be the only organisation able to stay true to crypto’s founding principles.

“EF currently is the only player with both the resources and network effects to not just keep the cypherpunk dream alive but also to actually make it happen,” Evgeny Gaevoy, CEO of crypto market maker Wintermute, said.

“Will this accrue to ETH price wise short term? Certainly not. Will it accrue to it long term? Only if it wins.”

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Tim Craig is DL News’ Edinburgh-based DeFi Correspondent. Reach out with tips at [email protected].