Six grievances from an Ethereum developer
May 29, 2026
An Ethereum developer has raised six key complaints about Ethereum’s trajectory and decisions that have led to missed opportunities in the market. The developer, who remains anonymous, highlights several key issues that they believe have hindered Ethereum’s progress and led to a decline in its market position.
The first complaint raised by the developer is the shift in the Ethereum Foundation’s focus from building to infrastructure. The developer argues that this shift in rhetoric has led to a lack of innovation and initiative, positioning Ethereum as a stagnant player in the market. The developer suggests that the Foundation’s posture resembles that of an incumbent, failing to adapt to changing market dynamics and losing ground to competitors.
The second complaint centers around Ethereum’s environmental pitch following the Merge. The developer argues that the Foundation’s focus on reducing energy consumption by 99.95% was a missed opportunity to emphasize speed and yield, which are key factors that users and developers prioritize. By prioritizing ESG concerns over user experience, Ethereum failed to capitalize on its competitive advantages.
The third complaint relates to the delayed implementation of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) on Ethereum. Despite PoS being on Ethereum’s roadmap since its mainnet launch in 2015, the Merge was only completed in September 2022, seven years later. In contrast, competitors like Solana were able to deliver innovative solutions and gain market share during Ethereum’s prolonged implementation of PoS.
The fourth complaint raised by the developer is the lack of a native staking user experience on Ethereum. The developer criticizes the Ethereum Foundation for not providing an accessible staking app for ordinary users, forcing them to navigate complex command-line tools and rely on third-party solutions like Lido. This lack of a user-friendly staking interface undermines Ethereum’s potential as a sound money alternative.
The fifth complaint focuses on Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap, which the developer argues weakens the base layer and fragments capital flows within the ecosystem. The developer highlights a significant decline in Ethereum’s quarterly fee revenue as a result of this strategy, emphasizing the need for a more cohesive and revenue-driven approach to ecosystem development.
The final complaint raised by the developer pertains to Ethereum’s emphasis on ideology over product delivery. The developer argues that Ethereum’s focus on philosophical correctness has hindered its ability to deliver products that users actually want, contrasting it with competitors like Solana, which prioritize user needs and ecosystem coordination. The developer suggests that Ethereum’s commitment to philosophical purity has led to missed opportunities for product innovation and market growth.
In conclusion, the developer points out that Ethereum’s decline in market position is not due to a lack of coordination but rather a failure to execute on key initiatives and deliver products that meet user demands. By prioritizing philosophical purity over product victory, Ethereum has missed out on opportunities to compete effectively in the market and attract users and developers. The developer’s critical assessment of Ethereum’s trajectory underscores the need for a reevaluation of priorities and a more user-centric approach to ecosystem development.
