The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has come under scrutiny following allegations by Péter Szilágyi, a well-known lead developer of the Ethereum Geth client, that the organisation secretly created and funded a second Geth development team at Nethermind.
The revelation highlights a crack in the Foundation's approach to managing its core infrastructure projects. The Geth client is the critical software that validators use to process and verify Ethereum transactions, making its development central to network stability and performance.
I DARE you and the entire #Ethereum foundation to say that you didn't offer $5M for us to spin out. Or that EF didn't ask at least 3 times if we wanted to make a company instead and go off, just me and Felix and @mhswende pushed back. I give @hwwonx to deny our Feb talk. https://t.co/s4eiLnYboP
- Péter Szilágyi (@peter_szilagyi) June 11, 2025
Szilágyi's statements on social media suggest that EF not only withheld information about this parallel team, but also attempted to destabilise the original Geth team by encouraging its members to seek employment elsewhere, proposing salary cuts and even offering $5 million for the team to separate as an independent private organisation.
These actions suggest a strategic move by the Foundation to diversify its development efforts, but the lack of transparency has raised concerns about internal governance and developer morale.
Impact on Ethereum's development ecosystem and community trust
The emergence of a second secret EF-funded Geth team has significant implications for Ethereum's development ecosystem.
Key developers like Szilágyi are critical to maintaining the integrity of the network, and any internal discord could spread to the wider community. The Foundation's decision to withhold information about the Nethermind team until the end of 2024, as reported by Szilágyi, undermines trust and raises questions about the organisation's decision-making processes.
In addition, Szilágyi's subsequent dismissal following a clash with EF representative Josh Stark highlights potential conflicts between the Foundation's leadership and its developer base. The incident comes amid broader leadership changes and a strategic shift by EF aimed at attracting institutional investors and improving Ethereum's scalability and user experience, marking a transition fraught with challenges.
The Ethereum Foundation's strategic change: staff cuts and new funding model
In early June 2024, the Ethereum Foundation announced a significant staff cut and a restructuring of its core development team. The move is intended to better focus on scaling solutions, increasing blobspace capacity and simplifying Ethereum's user experience, areas long criticised for their complexity and barriers to entry for mainstream users.
At the same time, EF has changed its funding strategy away from its traditional reliance on selling Ether (ETH) reserves. Instead, it now focuses on generating revenue through decentralised finance protocols (DeFi) involving loans and financing. This innovative approach aims to create a sustainable revenue stream that aligns with Ethereum's decentralised ethos, while reducing the market impact of large ETH sales.
To improve transparency, the Foundation has committed to publishing regular financial reports detailing operating expenses and treasury reserves. This initiative aims to restore community trust by providing a clear view of EF's budget and resource allocation amidst ongoing organisational changes.
Wider implications for Ethereum's future development and institutional attractiveness
EF's internal restructuring and funding review comes at a time of growing institutional interest in Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) solutions and tokenization of real-world assets. As traditional financial institutions (TradFi) explore Ethereum's potential to digitise trillions of assets, the Foundation's ability to maintain a cohesive and transparent development environment is critical.
However, the controversy surrounding the secretive Geth team and the treatment of key developers could hamper the Foundation's efforts to present itself as united to investors and the wider community. Ensuring robust governance, encouraging open communication and prioritising developer engagement will be essential to maintain Ethereum's growth trajectory and technological innovation.
The Ethereum Foundation's secret funding of a parallel Geth team and subsequent dissatisfaction with lead developer Péter Szilágyi highlight significant governance challenges as the organisation goes through a strategic transformation. Although the EF's move to new funding mechanisms and leaner development priorities reflects an adaptive approach to changing market needs, maintaining transparency and developer trust remains critical.
As Ethereum continues to scale and attract institutional capital, the Foundation's internal cohesion will be critical to the long-term success of the protocol.
