Lead Developer Accuses Ethereum Foundation of Phasing out Geth Project

Peter Szilagyi, lead developer of Ethereum’s Go implementation Geth, voiced concerns that the Ethereum Foundation pressured developers to discontinue the Geth project. Szilagyi voiced his concerns on X, suggesting that the Ethereum Foundation (EF) had offered $5 million to detach the Geth project from Ethereum. Szilagyi also suggested that EF was funding a secret fork of Geth to replace the development team. Tomasz Stanczak, co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, denied the accusations and reiterated the importance of Geth for the Ethereum ecosystem. Szilagyi, however, maintains that the EF put pressure on developers to discontinue the Geth project.

Szilagyi said he made an internal complaint but was fired within 24 hours of voicing his concerns. Szilagyi maintains that the $5 million offer was made multiple times and was a form of pressure to remove the Geth developers. The exchange of X posts online has created a tense situation that has strained relations between the EF and Geth developers. Geth is a Go Ethereum implementation of the Ethereum Client, and is the most popular one online, allowing nodes to verify blockchain transactions. The EF was created to support the Ethereum ecosystem.

Szilagyi, who has much experience leading the Geth project, alleged that the EF was offloading core projects while changing its stance towards ongoing research and development. Szilagyi is convinced that the EF has funded a parallel Geth project within the Nethermind project to transition slowly away from his team. Szilagyi claims that the EF recently dismissed four development teams and plans to discontinue Geth within one year. Ethereum investors may be concerned about this news because Geth is a core technology used within the Ethereum ecosystem. Stanczak, EF co-executive director, has rejected the claims that the EF is phasing out Geth.

Aya Miyaguchi, newly appointed EF President, held the position of Executive Director, which Tomasz Stanczak and Hsiao-Wei Wang took over. Stanczak has been embroiled in an online controversy involving Geth lead developer Szilagyi. Miyaguchi, moreover, was blamed for the underperformance of Ethereum during her time before receiving a promotion. Some members of the Ethereum community even blame the team members who worked under her for the sluggish performance of Ethereum. The online feud between Szilagyi and Stanczak further extends the controversies surrounding the firing of R&D staff, which started at the beginning of June. Some staff members, such as Szilagyi, may feel threatened by the firings. The EF began reorganising its staff and funding, as part of a broader strategy to make Ethereum leaner. Vitalik Buterin has made public comments praising the lean nature of Bitcoin and wishes to imitate its structure.

Stanczak has defended the EF and stated that the foundation plans to keep Geth and wants to extend its capabilities as client software. The EF, however, has not responded to the claims of $5 million in funds. Due to the public exposure of the X debate, the EF may be forced to release a statement explaining key issues, such as the $5 million offers. Ethereum traders may be interested in how these events unfold because the conflict may indicate further troubles for the foundation. The debate may include issues regarding delineating development teams and foundation activities. There may also be a possibility that a third-party individual may come forward to corroborate Szilagyi’s story. 

Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade occurred in early May, marking a critical milestone for the blockchain project. The upgrade addressed scalability issues to increase Ethereum’s competitiveness amongst other cryptocurrencies. The upgrade was a success in terms of public responsiveness. The derivatives markets saw an uptick in terms of Ethereum trading. Investors saw the upgrade as a clear indicator of the long-term sustainability of the Ethereum project. The current demand is for Ethereum ETFs with staking abilities so that traders can benefit from the financial innovations of blockchain technology. Despite criticism of the EF leadership, the Ethereum ecosystem has benefited from recent organizational changes.