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The Analysis of the Ethereum Foundation's Structure: From Vitalik's Seat Clarification to Community Questioning
Recently, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin responded to community rumors by stating that the claim about him holding "3/5 of the seats" on the Ethereum Foundation (EF) board is inaccurate. He clearly clarified that since 2017, he has only had one seat on the three-person board. This statement not only addressed external speculation about the concentration of power within the Ethereum Foundation, but also provided an opportunity to delve deeper into the structure and operations of the non-profit organization that supports the world's second-largest Block network. However, the community's questioning of the EF's governance structure has not been quelled, especially as recent public discussions have highlighted concerns about the transparency of its leadership and the distribution of power.
Vitalik and the Board: A Symbolic Role with Limited Power
As the spiritual figure of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin's technical insights and philosophical ideas have profoundly influenced the development of Ethereum. However, his official role within the Ethereum Foundation is far from the "all-controlling" perception of the outside world.
According to his clarification, since 2017, the Ethereum Foundation's board of directors has consisted of three people, and he only occupies one of those seats. This means that although he has irreplaceable influence within the community, in the EF's decision-making system, his voting power is only one-third.
However, this clarification has not completely allayed the community's doubts. For example, crypto community member Ameen Soleimani publicly questioned Vitalik's role on X, writing: "Okay, so then why did you claim to have full authority over the future leadership of the EF? If you have 1/3 seats, it's not just you, right?"
This questioning cited a previous response from Vitalik: "The person deciding the new EF leadership team is me. One of the goals of the ongoing reform is to give the EF a 'proper board', but until that happens it's me."
Vitalik did not respond to this questioning.
This dialogue has sparked a heated discussion in the community about the transparency of EF's governance and the concentration of power. Some are concerned that even if Vitalik only holds 1/3 of the board seats, his actual influence in the decision-making process may far exceed his formal role, especially in the current situation where "the reform has not yet been completed."
The Organizational Structure of the Ethereum Foundation
The Ethereum Foundation was established in 2014, headquartered in the crypto-friendly city of Zug, Switzerland. Its core mission is to support the research and development of the Ethereum protocol, the expansion of the ecosystem, and the popularization of decentralized technology. As a non-profit organization, the EF's structure is not as hierarchical as a traditional company, but operates in a flexible, project-driven manner. Its main components are as follows:
Leadership and Strategy Layer
In addition to the three-person board of directors, the EF has an Executive Director position, currently held by Aya Miyaguchi since 2018. She is responsible for daily management and external communication, serving as a key link between the board and the operations team. The leadership also includes technical advisors and research leads, who jointly formulate the technical roadmap, such as driving the historic transition of Ethereum from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).
The core of the community's questioning is whether the EF's leadership is overly dependent on a few key figures (such as Vitalik and Aya). Some believe that the three-person board is too small in scale, and the identities of the members are not fully transparent, which may lead to a lack of diversity and accountability in decision-making.
Research and Development Core
The EF's research team is the technical backbone, focusing on cryptography, distributed systems, and protocol optimization. In recent years, they have made breakthroughs in areas such as zero-knowledge proofs (like zk-Rollups) and sharding technology (now adjusted to data sharding).
In terms of development, the EF does not directly control all the code, but supports the maintenance and upgrade of the Ethereum network by funding independent teams (such as Geth and Prysm client developers).
Nevertheless, the community has also raised concerns that the EF's dominant position in technical decision-making may undermine the principle of decentralized development. Some developers question whether the EF is too inclined to fund specific projects or technical paths, thereby affecting the diversity of the Ethereum ecosystem.
Ecosystem Support Program (ESP)
Another major pillar of the EF is the Ecosystem Support Program, which helps the prosperity of the Ethereum ecosystem by funding open-source projects, developer tools, and decentralized application (DApp) teams. This program is open to public applications, ensuring that resources flow to the areas most needed by the community.
However, there is also controversy over the transparency of the ESP's fund allocation. Some believe that the EF's funding decisions may be biased towards projects closely related to the core team, while overlooking the broader innovation needs.
Operations and Financial Management
The EF's funds mainly come from the proceeds of the 2014 Ethereum crowdfunding (about $18 million) and the subsequent holding of Ether (ETH). By selling and managing these assets, the EF maintains its operations. For example, the 2022 report shows its annual expenditure of about $48 million, mainly used for R&D and community projects. Financial decisions are executed by the operations team but require board approval.
However, the community questions the EF's financial transparency, believing that although the annual report provides an overview, it lacks more detailed information on the flow of funds and the decision-making process, which may raise concerns about the fairness of resource allocation.
The Essence of Decentralization and External Misunderstandings
Vitalik's clarification of the board seats reflects the decentralized nature of the Ethereum Foundation. The EF is not the "central government" of the Ethereum network, but more like a resource allocator and technology driver. Improvements to the Ethereum protocol (such as EIPs) are discussed and implemented by the global developer community, and the EF's role is to provide support rather than issue orders. However, the community's questioning shows that many are still concerned that the EF's actual influence may not be in line with its decentralized ideology, especially after Vitalik claimed that "the current leadership reform is my responsibility."
Current and Future: A Continuously Evolving Structure
As of February 2025, the Ethereum Foundation is still driving the next stage of Ethereum's upgrades, such as EIP-4844 in the "Dencun" upgrade, aimed at improving the efficiency of Layer 2 solutions through data sharding. At the same time, the EF's support for education, privacy technologies (such as zero-knowledge proofs), and the global developer community is also constantly expanding. Vitalik himself is focusing more on technical research rather than administrative management, which is consistent with the trend of the EF gradually fading its "centralized color."
However, the community's expectation for leadership reform is particularly urgent. Vitalik's mention of the plan to "establish a 'proper board of directors' for the EF" is seen as a key step in resolving the current controversies. If this reform can improve transparency and expand decision-making participation, it may help alleviate external concerns about the EF's governance structure.
Conclusion
The architecture of the Ethereum Foundation is a system that combines flexibility and decentralization. The reality that Vitalik only occupies one seat on the three-person board of directors dispels the rumor of power concentration, but the community's continued questioning shows that the EF still needs to make more efforts in terms of transparency, power decentralization, and accountability mechanisms. As a key pillar of the Block world, the future development of the EF will continue to affect the landscape of Ethereum and the entire decentralized technology. How to balance technology-driven and community trust will be a major challenge facing the EF in its reform.
