The Ethereum Foundation (EF) is coming under increasing criticism from within its own community for what developers call "insanely low" compensation and lack of alignment with significant contributors to the ecosystem. The storm erupted after veteran EF researcher Dankrad Feist quit to work at Tempo, a Layer-1 project funded by Stripe, in search of improved compensation and opportunities.
Prior EF lead developer Peter Szilagyi also uncovered he made just $625K pre-tax in six years, outraging industry colleagues who branded the amount well under market rates for a developer of his standing. The development has fueled a wider debate about EF's compensation model and its capacity to hold onto top talent.
Yet the problem is more than about paychecks. Leading developers assert that the Foundation has lost touch with the network it created. Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal accused EF of not backing big contributors such as Polygon when they scaled Ethereum. He went so far as to call the Ethereum community a "shit show," stating that even when Polygon's victories, such as Polymarket, are framed as Ethereum victories, the network itself remains an outsider.
"I/We never received any immediate help from EF or the Ethereum CT community — quite the contrary," Sandeep commented, pointing to profound disconnect within the ecosystem.
Even Andre Cronje, another prominent Ethereum constructor, challenged EF's priorities, wondering who exactly EF is helping.
And in response, Vitalik Buterin intervened to thank Sandeep and Polygon for their "immensely valuable role" within the Ethereum ecosystem — an effort perceived as one to cool tensions.
And yet the episode highlights Ethereum's internal growing pains as it straddles decentralization with unity — and the danger of a developer exodus should these problems persist.
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