Updated on:12/14/2025 04:31 PM 
The Ethereum Foundation is taking significant steps toward establishing a formal conflict of interest policy, responding to growing community concerns following revelations about its developers' advisory roles with EigenLayer.
In a recent social media statement, Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi acknowledged the community's concerns, emphasizing the foundation's commitment to maintaining organizational credibility and neutrality. Miyaguchi confirmed that the EF shares these concerns and is actively working to strengthen trust within the Ethereum ecosystem.
The controversy erupted on May 18 when prominent crypto analyst Jordan Fish (known as Cobie) publicly questioned Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin regarding the ethical implications of foundation developers accepting substantial financial incentives from projects built on the Ethereum network.
Cobie specifically highlighted EigenLayer in his tweet, triggering widespread debate across social media platforms about potential conflicts of interest within the Ethereum development community.
In response to the mounting scrutiny, Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake publicly disclosed his advisory position at EigenLayer on May 19. Drake revealed he had received a substantial incentive in Eigen tokens, potentially worth millions of dollars distributed over a three-year vesting schedule.
Drake clarified that this information had been publicly available since May 3, asserting that his disclosure timing following Cobie's tweet was coincidental. The revelation nonetheless intensified discussions about transparency and potential conflicts between EigenLayer and the Ethereum Foundation.
On May 21, another prominent Ethereum Foundation researcher, Dankrad Feist—renowned for his contributions to "danksharding"—also disclosed his advisory role at EigenLayer. Feist confirmed receiving a significant allocation of EIGEN tokens and assured the community that his external position would not influence his technical assessments of EigenLayer's development.
The disclosures have raised critical questions about potential conflicts of interest, particularly concerning the systemic risks that EigenLayer might introduce to the Ethereum network. As a platform enabling users to deposit and "re-stake" Ether from various liquid staking tokens to secure third-party networks, EigenLayer has drawn attention from blockchain experts concerned about potential centralization and the additional burdens placed on stakers.
In an effort to address these concerns, Drake pledged to reinvest or donate all proceeds to worthwhile projects within the Ethereum ecosystem, further committing to terminate his advisorship if EigenLayer's direction diverged from Ethereum's core interests.
Feist emphasized his intention to maintain contrarian perspectives on EigenLayer, focusing specifically on identifying potential risks and promoting decentralization within the protocol.
The Ethereum Foundation's decision to formalize a conflict of interest policy represents a significant advancement in addressing community concerns and reinforcing trust within the ecosystem. Stakeholders anticipate further updates on the policy's development in the coming weeks.
