EigenLayer's advisory changes, how does Ethereum's neutrality practice geometry?
The Ethereum community is distancing itself from the project parties.
Author: Pzai, Foresight News
As one of the most important derivative projects of Ethereum, EigenLayer's price trend after its token launch has been unsatisfactory.
On November 2, EigenLayer's two project advisors, Dankrad Feist and Justin Drake, who are also members of the Ethereum Foundation, announced their resignation from their advisory roles after nearly six months, stating they would focus on "more neutral" matters. Back in May, when the two announced their advisory roles, they faced controversy from the native Ethereum community. Their decision to step down long after the token launch has raised questions in the community about whether they profited from this involvement. This article organizes recent related events, providing an overview of the relationship between the Ethereum community and the project team.
Warm Invitation
In the disclosure at the time of their appointment, both members stated they received incentives in the form of millions of dollars worth of tokens. Justin Drake even mentioned that the amount of token incentives exceeded the total of all his other assets. Although EigenLayer is a protocol within the Ethereum ecosystem, there are inherent conflicts of interest between EigenLayer and Ethereum, including issues of centralized staking and neutrality bias arising from dual identities. Some Ethereum builders even lamented, "Foundation members are also staking themselves."
Regarding the neutrality issue, Dankrad stated at the time that he would not be influenced by EigenLayer to develop a bias towards the core protocol, mentioning a series of issues related to restaking mechanisms, including potential centralization risks, protocol attacks, and the misalignment of interests between holders and stakers. However, he believed that if the restaking mechanism were effectively implemented, it could provide some benefits of LST to independent stakers and offer temporary solutions for projects constrained by Ethereum network resources. One of the main goals as an advisor was to help avoid the centralization risks and potential attacks brought by restaking services.
Justin Drake further committed to using all advisor earnings for valuable projects within the Ethereum ecosystem and was ready to resign from his advisory position at any time if EigenLayer took actions contrary to Ethereum's interests.
The community's general point of skepticism is: Why accept a project role that conflicts with Ethereum's interests as a core contributor of the Ethereum Foundation? Where is the credible neutrality? As one of the public goods foundations that has long adhered to a non-profit mindset, we still do not know whether this work violates their internal guidelines. However, one thing is certain: in the token distribution, early contributors and investors (i.e., VCs and teams) accounted for 55%, which inevitably raises doubts among users about their allegiance.
Silent Departure
Yesterday, Dankrad Feist and Justin Drake announced their resignation from their advisory roles at EigenLayer. Dankrad stated, "While I believe this role was negotiated in good faith to ensure EigenLayer aligns with Ethereum, I understand that perceptions of this relationship differ, and for many, the resulting conflicts of interest are difficult to reconcile with my role as an Ethereum researcher." He then stated he would focus on his proposed Danksharding technical solution.
Justin had already stepped down from his advisory role in September, stating, "I want to apologize to the Ethereum community and my EF colleagues for the dramatic changes I caused. In hindsight, this was a wrong decision for me." He also mentioned that he did not receive any tokens.
However, the community has expressed some discontent, as many members believe they chose to resign only after gaining related benefits, essentially profiting from their identities.
What Geometry of Ethereum Neutrality?
For the Ethereum ecosystem, the Ethereum Foundation itself plays a central role in the discourse surrounding this vast public good, and as a relatively independent project, EigenLayer needs to navigate "human relationships" to influence Ethereum's development direction, making the Foundation a good entry point. Despite the Foundation's annual budget exceeding $100 million, its members often expand their own business interests, such as Justin Drake serving as an advisor or committee member for multiple projects (Polygon, Arbitrum, Bankless, etc.).
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin often openly discusses the neutrality of technology, but above technology, the only thing that can preserve neutrality may be individual professional ethics and integrity. Beyond EigenLayer, we can also see some projects with intricate ties to the Ethereum Foundation, and the Foundation needs to rethink how to coordinate neutrality within such a large ecosystem. As Vitalik stated, "While there are many ways to build a scalable, secure long-term blockchain ecosystem, they all seem to be heading towards a very similar future." We hope to see a neutral Ethereum ecosystem, as only such an ecosystem can be inclusive.
Interestingly, after Dankrad Feist and Justin Drake announced their resignation from their advisory roles at EigenLayer, Monad founder Keone Hon posted on X, calling on entrepreneurs not to choose advisors lightly. He stated, "Those who can provide you with truly valuable advice may not become your advisors; conversely, those who actively reach out to you and offer advisory services may not provide genuinely valuable advice.
In fact, those most likely to provide you with valuable advice often do not charge any fees; they simply will not become your advisors."
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Sky's executive vote approved to increase some savings rates and various stability fees
Ripple CEO supports David Sacks’ appointment as White House ‘crypto czar’