In a thought-provoking post on X (formerly Twitter), Ethereum founding member Anthony D’Onofrio issued a strong call for change at the Ethereum Foundation. D’Onofrio argues the non-profit tasked with supporting Ethereum’s development has lost its way and needs new leadership to realize the project’s revolutionary potential.
D’Onofrio’s critiques strike at the heart of long-simmering tensions within the Ethereum community. On one hand, the Ethereum Foundation plays a vital role in coordinating the project’s growth and technical progress. Its centralized structure enables it to marshal resources, set priorities, and interface with the wider world.
Yet as D’Onofrio points out, this concentrated power stands in stark contrast to Ethereum’s founding ethos of radical decentralization. He suggests that behind the scenes, the Foundation operates through backroom dealings and an insular inner circle—the antithesis of blockchain’s ideals of transparency and broad-based empowerment.
Recovering Ethereum’s Lost Vision
For D’Onofrio, the solution lies in bold, proactive leadership that recaptures Ethereum’s early promise. He urges the Foundation to look beyond mere technical development and embrace the project’s grander philosophical aims.
“Ethereum was in its birth a visionary project, not simply technological in nature,” D’Onofrio writes. “It pointed towards a possibility of previously unimaginable futures through the empowerment of the individual to do what had previously taken billions of dollars, thousands of people, or millions of man hours to accomplish.”
In practical terms, this means the Foundation must urgently address key weaknesses:
Transparency and Community Focus
D’Onofrio argues the Foundation has grown increasingly insular and opaque, leaving the wider Ethereum community feeling alienated and disempowered. He calls for radically expanding transparency around the group’s operations and decision-making.
Even more importantly, D’Onofrio says the Foundation must renew its focus on nurturing and expanding the Ethereum community itself. “Ethereum would have been nothing without its community,” he writes, “and it will be nothing if it loses it.”
Political Engagement
On the regulatory front, D’Onofrio sees a unique window of opportunity that the Foundation is failing to seize. With an Ethereum-friendly politician in the White House, “there has never been a better time than now to ensure that the promise of crypto is realized,” he writes.
From a legal perspective, Ethereum must embrace the opportunity to engage with lawmakers. The current American political climate is uniquely favorable, and inaction now risks losing momentum.
– Anthony D’Onofrio
Leading by Example
Perhaps most intriguing is D’Onofrio’s call for the Foundation to “dogfood” its own technology—to use Ethereum-based tools to manage its treasury, governance, and operations. Done right, this would provide a powerful real-world demonstration of decentralized coordination in action.
Beyond generating valuable learnings, D’Onofrio argues this form of technological leadership by example is essential to Ethereum’s credibility.
By adopting Ethereum-based tools and protocols, the Foundation could potentially manage governance, treasury disbursements, decision-making processes, and community engagement.
– Anthony D’Onofrio
Driving Real Value
Finally, D’Onofrio demands greater accountability around the Foundation’s ample funding. Despite an annual budget of $100 million, D’Onofrio sees little progress on long-standing problems around user experience, security, and key management that limit mainstream crypto adoption.
“Improving UX, UI, key management, and other security and usability problems isn’t insurmountable but has been severely neglected,” he writes. “This oversight reflects a blind spot which must be addressed before wider adoption is possible.”
Moment of Truth for Ethereum
D’Onofrio’s critiques come at a pivotal juncture for Ethereum. With the crypto industry maturing and competitors circling, many worry the project risks squandering its early lead and transformative promise.
- The Ethereum Foundation’s centralized power is at odds with the project’s decentralized ideals
- Lack of transparency and community focus risks alienating Ethereum’s vital grassroots support
- Improved governance and accountability around funding are urgently needed
Whether the Foundation rises to the challenge remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: for many passionate advocates like D’Onofrio, Ethereum is far more than just another cryptocurrency. It represents a powerful vision of a more open, empowered future—a vision they’re determined to keep alive.
To ensure its future, the Ethereum Foundation must transform itself from a reactive institution into a proactive visionary force. For Ethereum. For the community. For the greater good. For the future.
– Anthony D’Onofrio
As the crypto world watches, the battle for Ethereum’s soul—and its future—is being fought at the highest levels of the project. Where it leads, only time will tell.
