A public dispute has emerged between the Ethereum Foundation and Péter Szilágyi, the former lead developer of the Geth execution client, centering on a $5 million proposal to spin off Geth into an independent company.
Szilágyi disclosed that the Ethereum Foundation repeatedly made the $5 million offer, which the Geth development team declined due to concerns about management and infrastructure requirements for independence.
The conflict intensified with Szilágyi’s allegation that the Ethereum Foundation secretly funded a parallel fork of the Geth client within the Nethermind client team without informing the original Geth developers, raising significant transparency issues.
Further tensions surfaced regarding developer retention and compensation. Szilágyi claimed that Ethereum Foundation co-CEO Tomasz Stańczak encouraged Geth developers to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Szilágyi stated he was dismissed from the Ethereum Foundation following a confrontation about the undisclosed fork project. He refused to return without an apology, which was not provided.
The dispute highlights broader governance concerns within Ethereum’s core development teams, potentially impacting protocol security and developer confidence.