Aya Miyaguchi: The Role and Challenges of the Ethereum Foundation

Epicenter - Learn about Crypto, Blockchain, Ethereum, Bitcoin and Distributed Technologies

The Ethereum Foundation has played a crucial role in the evolution of the blockchain ecosystem. They pioneered the Swiss foundation structure and ran one of the first token sales. They played a key role in developing the second-most valuable blockchain network and still play a key role in funding research and steering the future of Ethereum.

At the same time, it has been frequently criticized for a lack of transparency, being too slow in funding development and poor financial risk management. Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi joined us to discuss her journey into the space, the role of the Ethereum Foundation and their plans for the future.

Topics covered in this episode:

• How Aya went from high school teacher to enter the crypto space
• Joining Kraken and building their presence in Japan
• The role of the Ethereum Foundation in the Ethereum ecosystem
• Decision making processes and governance in the Ethereum Foundation
• Ethereum's grant program and funding priorities
• The Ethereum Foundation's plans to attempt to become more transparent
• The Ethereum Foundation's approach to conflicts of interest
• Why the EF decided to support MolochDAO
• Whether Ethereum should be concerned about competition from other blockchain networks

Episode links:

• Ethereum.org
• Ethereum Foundation to Spend $30 Million on Development Over Next Year
• Ethereum Foundation Website
• Ethereum Foundation Values by Aya Miyaguchi (Devcon4) - YouTube
• Ethereum Devcon 5 Japan - Oct 30 to Nov 2
• DappCon Berlin - August 21 to 23

Sponsors:

• Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/287