Ethereum researcher Dankrad Feist has announced his decision to join the ranks of EigenLayer as an adviser. Following in the footsteps of fellow researcher Justin Drake, Feist said this move would not represent the Ethereum Foundation and would have “a focus on risks and decentralization.”
“Together with Justin Drake, I have recently decided to become an advisor to Eigenlayer, on the same conditions -- I am taking this position personally [...] I am therefore fully expected to take contrarian views on Eigenlayer.”
Feist’s announcement sparked a mixture of backlash and support from the community due to potential conflicts of interest and the fact that Feist will receive “a significant amount of tokens from this position.”
Feist explained that he does not believe the allocation of tokens will “change or influence” his position on how the core protocol should be developed. Instead, he believes the new role would be “a major benefit to Ethereum if it is done by someone with high integrity.”
“I trust the current leaders are intending to do that, and I am planning to hold them accountable for it. I will not hesitate to speak out and/or to quit my position if I believe this is no longer the case.”
Amid the community backlash, one community member showed appreciation for the disclosure, speculating that the “angst” Feist and Drake were receiving could be attributed to EigenLayer being “bad.”
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Lefteris Karapetsas, founder of Rotkiapp, expressed his disappointment in “the EF researchers.” He made a blunt comment in an X post on May 21.
“This is a clear as day conflict of interest of key decision makers of Ethereum protocol development and should absolutely not be tolerated.”
Karapetsas explained that he was “appalled” by the decision that Feist and Drake had made, adding that “even if [they] pink promise” to not let the compensation cloud their judgment, it is “impossible.”
On May 19, Drake posted about his decision to take on his paid EigenLayer adviser role, which would compensate him with “millions of dollars” worth of EIGEN tokens.
Drake acknowledged that taking the role would threaten his “personal reputation” and explained that he would “steer EigenLayer from within.”
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