Ethereum researcher Justin Drake’s recent decision to accept a paid advisory role at EigenFoundation, the organization behind EigenLayer, has stirred controversy within the Ethereum community, sparking concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
In a detailed post on May 19th, Drake revealed that he had accepted the advisory position at EigenFoundation, which comes with a significant incentive in EIGEN tokens vested over three years, valued at “millions of dollars.” EigenLayer is a protocol designed to allow users to stake liquid staked Ether (ETH) tokens, effectively enabling ETH to be staked twice.
Drake emphasized that he took on the role under the condition that his primary focus would remain on researching restaking risks. Despite the financial incentive, he maintained that he would maintain a critical stance towards EigenLayer and its operations. He expressed his intention to use his advisory role to closely monitor restaking issues and provide guidance to EigenLayer from within the organization.
However, some members of the community, including crypto trader Jordan Fish, raised concerns about Ethereum Foundation staff accepting significant financial packages from projects like EigenLayer, which may have conflicting incentives with Ethereum’s interests. Others, such as Hudson Jameson, David Wong, and Robbie Nakarmi, commended Drake for his transparency in disclosing his involvement.
In response to criticisms, Drake clarified that EigenLayer’s relationship with the Ethereum Foundation is limited, with only a few members having formal ties to the project. He asserted that he did not believe that the involvement of a small percentage of Ethereum Foundation members would compromise the organization’s integrity. Additionally, Drake stated his readiness to terminate his advisory role if EigenLayer were to pursue actions contrary to Ethereum’s interests.
EigenLayer recently faced backlash from users over the restrictive nature of its program, prompting the project to distribute an additional 28 million EIGEN tokens through an airdrop in May.
