Ethereum Community Backs Danny Ryan for Leadership

An informal poll among Ethereum supporters shows strong backing for former Ethereum researcher Danny Ryan to become the next leader of the Ethereum Foundation — echoing similar suggestions from other prominent community members.

The Poll

The poll, conducted at votedannyryan.com, enables participation through a simple approval voting system where individuals can vote yes or no for Ryan via their ETH wallets. The voting process is designed to be gas-free.

So far, 99% of the 580 wallets that collectively hold more than 51,000 ETH valued at $160 million have signed their votes in favor of Ryan, who left the foundation last year. Ryan is the sole candidate in this vote, and it doesn’t yield an official outcome.

Developer Fabrice Cheng created the voting site. According to Cheng, he started the “votedannyryan” campaign and its associated website “to offer a peaceful, objective way” for the broader Ethereum community — ETH holders, stakers, and DeFi participants — to express their views.

Community Voice

“Ethereum’s greatest strength has always been its social layer, and ensuring that the community has a voice is vital for its future,” Cheng told The Block. He clarified that the vote carries no official weight, and he’s not advocating that the EF adopt a decentralized community voting system for every decision.

Leadership Discussions

Recently, there has been much contentious discussion about EF’s leadership. Community members have voiced concerns about leadership inefficiencies, and others have expressed discontent with the current executive director, Aya Miyaguchi.

Ethereum co-founder and CEO of Consensys Joseph Lubin also suggested replacing Miyaguchi with Danny Ryan and ETH France president Jerome de Tychey as co-leaders to bring “a massive injection of energy” and technical focus to the EF. “When I saw the calls for Danny Ryan to step up as Executive Director, I was very supportive, as Danny is an immaculate leader, who can bring the kind of drive the technical side of the EF needs,” Lubin wrote regarding Ryan’s candidacy.

Technical Expertise

The community’s push for Ryan to lead has been notable. Members argue that his technical expertise aligns well with Ethereum’s long-term goals. Danny Ryan was a prominent researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, focusing on areas like proof of stake and sharding. He also significantly contributed to Ethereum, particularly in transitioning from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake, known as The Merge.

Future Governance

Meanwhile, Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, recently reaffirmed his authority over deciding the foundation’s next leader until reforms are made for more structured governance. Ryan has also voiced his interest in involvement, stating on X that he “opened a dialogue with Vitalik and others at the EF about such changes.” However, whether there will be a formal initiative from either side for Ryan’s appointment remains to be seen.