Ethereum’s brainiacs got a jolt this week as Justin Drake, heavyweight researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, pulled the plug on his Eigenlayer gig. In a cryptic post dated November 2, Drake spilled that he’d already left his advisor slot at the Eigen Foundation back in September. The Eigenlayer restaking protocol, steered by the Eigen Foundation, had once tempted him with glittery bags of EIGEN tokens — but now he’s off the ship, with the web3 rumor mill spinning at full throttle.
Drake Dumps Advisorships, Declares Himself “Neutral”
In a rare move, Drake took it a step further, vowing to cut ties with all advisory gigs, angel pockets, and security councils. “Going forward, I will turn down all advisorships, angel investments, and security councils,” he wrote, noting that this “personal policy goes above and beyond” the Ethereum Foundation’s new conflict-of-interest rules. Not forced, but chosen, he claims this “neutrality” shift is just him flying solo from here on out.
Crypto tribes latched onto this shift as if it were alpha leak. Drake said he’ll now focus fully on Ethereum’s layer-1 bones, especially its sacred consensus layer. But the timing? Strange. The silence since his quiet September exit? Even stranger. Drake’s post has left speculators orbiting with theories about Eigenlayer’s short but stormy history in Ethereum’s backyard.
The May Maelstrom: Millions in EIGEN and the Fallout
The ruckus around Drake began in May when he inked an advisory deal with the Eigen Foundation, pocketing a bag of EIGEN tokens reportedly worth “more than all my other assets combined.” The Ethereum crowd? Not amused. Though he swore to stick to Eigenlayer’s tech risks without any shilling, the web3 streets smelled something fishy.
The waters got murkier when another Ethereum Foundation brain, Dankrad Feist, also hopped on the Eigenlayer bandwagon as an advisor. The Ethereum community sounded off, shouting “conflict of interest!” as the scene veered dangerously close to centralized finance-style backdoor deals.
Ethereum Foundation Responds: New Rules, Old Skepticism
Under mounting pressure, the Ethereum Foundation scrambled to install a fresh conflict-of-interest policy, an attempt to quell community outrage and patch up Ethereum’s rep. But for many, this was too little, too late.
Drake’s solo act might quiet the rumbles, but the lingering vibes? Pure uncertainty. This latest protocol soap opera has web3 insiders wondering — is Ethereum truly a decentralized dream, or are conflicts coded in the DNA?
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