Ethereum core developers have left the community to pursue innovation within the artificial intelligence environment.
On January 21, prominent Ethereum core developer Eric Conner announced that he was leaving the Ethereum community after Vitalik Buterin dismissed calls for a leadership shakeup and asserted sole authority over the Ethereum Foundation. I did it.
“I will be the one deciding on the new EF leadership team. One of the aims of the ongoing reforms is to provide EF with a ‘proper board’. But until that happens, this is me,” Buterin said.
While many supported Buterin’s decision to run Ethereum alone until a formal board reform begins, several community members called for this move, citing ambiguity with the blockchain technology ethos of pursuing decentralization.
Despite his long-term affiliation with the Ethereum community for 11 years, Conner sides with the latter. In response to Buterin’s message, the core developers wrote to X:
“I am no longer a dot. Perhaps at some point those in leadership roles will rejoin the community. But for now, I’ve stepped aside.”
Loss of interest in Ethereum due to leadership concerns
After realizing the importance of community and embracing change to serve the greater community, Connor said, “I simply lost my passion.” He added:
“Leaders are important, culture is important, and community is important. We can no longer ignore this. (…) Actually, I hope Ethereum wins, but I can’t spend all day shouting about this emptiness anymore.”
He announced his shift to AI in another X post.
source: Eric Connor
Conner will initially work on building Freysa.ai, an evolving AI agent, but is also willing to collaborate on building other AI tools.
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Vitalik Buterin attempts leadership restructuring
On January 18, Buterin announced major changes to the Ethereum Foundation leadership to emphasize technical expertise and improve communication between the Foundation and builders in the Ethereum ecosystem.
source: Vitalik Buterin
Amid the major reorganization announcement, he said, “I welcome people pursuing a different vision to start their own organizations.”
This change in leadership at the Ethereum Foundation follows a rough 2024 in which the foundation’s spending, roadmap goals, and staff were criticized by the Ethereum community.
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