Ethereum Developer Criticizes Foundation's Governance and Compensation

According to BlockBeats, Ethereum core developer and Geth client developer Péter Szilágyi has publicly disclosed a letter he sent to the Ethereum Foundation leadership a year and a half ago. In the letter, Szilágyi expressed his disappointment with the foundation, highlighting issues such as significant pay disparities, conflicts of interest, and centralized power within the organization. Szilágyi stated that working at the Ethereum Foundation has been a poor financial decision since joining. He revealed that his total compensation over six years was only $625,000 before taxes and without incentives, during which Ethereum's total market value rose from zero to $450 billion. He argued that this low pay structure forces those who genuinely care about the protocol to seek compensation elsewhere, creating a risk of the protocol being captured by interest groups. He also criticized the foundation for undervaluing employee contributions while overly relying on those who stay for idealistic reasons. He claimed that salary information is deliberately hidden internally, making opacity the norm. Szilágyi believes this structural imbalance is a key reason for Ethereum's gradual deviation from its original goals. Discussing the ecosystem's power structure, Szilágyi noted that Ethereum has formed a "small circle" around Vitalik Buterin, with a few opinion leaders and venture capital firms controlling the most influential projects and decision-making directions. He stated that while Ethereum appears decentralized, Buterin and his core circle have almost absolute indirect control over the ecosystem. Szilágyi concluded that Ethereum has shifted from idealism to realism, with the foundation's governance and compensation mechanisms making the protocol susceptible to capture. He expressed difficulty in seeing a bright future for Ethereum.