TL;DR
- High-profile researchers are leaving the EF, such as Dankrad Feist, who is joining Tempo, the L1 incubated by Stripe.
- A former lead developer revealed a salary of $625K over six years (pre-tax), described as “insanely low.”
- Polygon CEO Sandeep Nailwal criticized the EF for its lack of support for L2s and the ecosystem’s bad “vibe.”
The Ethereum Foundation (EF) is facing strong controversy this week. It faces severe criticism over its compensation structure and a growing disconnect from the ecosystem it is supposed to lead. This situation has provoked a notable “brain drain,” with key developers and researchers abandoning the organization.
The trigger for this controversy was the departure of Dankrad Feist. He is a long-standing researcher at the EF, who announced his departure to join Tempo, a new Layer 1 (L1) blockchain incubated by Stripe and with considerable financial backing.
Feist’s departure is not an isolated incident. The main catalyst for the churn is salaries. Peter Szilagyi, a former lead developer at the EF, recently revealed that his total compensation for six years of work was $625,000, pre-tax.
This figure was described by multiple players in the sector, including developers from rival chains like Solana, as “insanely low” compared to current market rates for talent of that caliber. This brain drain is especially concerning as new corporate chains, like Tempo, actively seek to compete for Ethereum’s market share.
Ecosystem Misalignment and Internal Criticism
Dissatisfaction within the Ethereum community goes beyond paychecks. Internal sources and prominent ecosystem figures denounce a lack of “vibe” and a deep strategic misalignment between the Ethereum Foundation and key protocols.
Sandeep Nailwal, CEO of Polygon, one of Ethereum’s main L2s, publicly expressed his frustration, stating that the EF has never supported Layer 2 solutions. Nailwal went so far as to describe the Ethereum community as a “shit show,” where massive contributions to the ecosystem are not valued.
This is not the first crisis of this type for the foundation. Earlier in the year, the EF was forced to restructure its leadership to improve ecosystem alignment, starting to actively use applications like Aave and Morpho. However, these measures seem to have been insufficient.
In an apparent effort to control the narrative, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, publicly praised the contributions of Polygon and Sandeep. Meanwhile, the price of ETH has fallen slightly below $4,000, although market sentiment remains “neutral” despite the community turmoil.
