Original author: TechFlow
On February 25, when Ethereum was widely questioned, Aya Miyaguchi, who was once at the center of public opinion, became the new chairman of the Ethereum Foundation.
This is not a whim; the transition from the current executive director to the chairman of the Ethereum Foundation (EF) has been planned for a year.
Aya Miyaguchi said in a blog post, “Ethereum belongs to everyone, and because it belongs to no one, our culture of allowing different opinions not only tolerates differences - but becomes stronger through differences. The role of the Ethereum Foundation has never been to control or own all aspects of Ethereum. Our responsibility is to maintain the values of Ethereum .”
From a Japanese classroom to the infinite garden of the crypto world, Aya Miyaguchi’s story is not only a unique career transition, but also a conflicting journey to protect values.
From Japanese Classrooms to the Crypto World
Aya Miyaguchi’s career began not in technology but in education.
She worked at a high school in Nagoya, Japan. As a passionate teacher, she was committed to creatively designing courses to inspire students to think independently and critically.
However, after more than a decade of teaching experience, she began to feel uneasy - just teaching textbook knowledge could not satisfy her pursuit of a deeper meaning of education. She wanted to help students become people who can explore the world independently, rather than just test machines.
As a teacher, I often tell my students that they should go abroad at least once in their lives.
Ultimately, she set an example and paved a new path for herself by resigning from her teaching position and going to the United States to pursue an MBA.
This decision unexpectedly brought her into the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency.
While studying in the United States, Aya developed a keen interest in financial inclusion and believes that addressing inequality is critical for business.
By chance, she met Jesse Powell, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, and joined the company as managing director of Kraken Japan.
However, her career was not all smooth sailing.
In 2014, the public image of cryptocurrency in Japan hit rock bottom when Mt. Gox, a leading Japanese exchange, collapsed. Faced with panic and distrust, Miyaguchi took the initiative to contact government agencies, participate in regulatory discussions, and work with industry organizations to promote the cryptocurrency regulatory framework that Japan later launched in 2017.
One episode was that she met the then 19-year-old Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin at the Kraken office in 2013. At that time, he was not yet V God. His external identity was a writer for Bitcoin Magazine and he was writing the Ethereum white paper.
Aya later recalled that she did not fully understand the technical details of Ethereum at the time, but she recognized that the technology had the potential to change the world. She was attracted by Ethereums vision, and especially appreciated its non-profit nature and the communitys adherence to core values. In her view, Ethereum is not just a technology, but a new worldview that can challenge the existing centralized power structure.
In 2018, after leaving Kraken, Aya was invited by Vitalik to join the Ethereum Foundation.
At that time, the foundation faced many challenges, including coordinating internal and external activities, establishing non-RD functions, etc. Although the task was arduous, she accepted the role, believing that it was also an opportunity for her to realize her personal ideals.
“At the time, the crypto industry was starting to take on a money-making vibe, and I felt like Ethereum might be the last hope for realizing my original vision of how decentralized technology could help achieve financial inclusion and help unbanked people get banking services, and I had to help.”
As executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, Aya adopts a unique leadership approach that she calls the subtraction principle - proactively reducing her own power and avoiding centralized decision-making while maintaining Ethereums open culture and decentralized spirit.
She described Ethereum as an “infinite garden,” emphasizing its organic nature and the importance of long-term thinking rather than short-term gains.
Infinite Garden and Zen Management
For Aya, Ethereum is not only a technical project, but also an infinite garden that embodies the ideal of decentralization.
This metaphor comes from James P. Carses Finite and Infinite Games. She believes that Ethereums mission is not to win short-term benefits, but to continuously promote the popularization and development of decentralized concepts.
She compared the Ethereum community to an uncultivated natural park, full of diversity and vitality. Although there are sometimes radical voices or strange ideas, these may also become the source of future innovation.
“The Ethereum ecosystem didn’t start out with clear goals or milestones set by the Ethereum Foundation, but rather grew organically as people from all backgrounds joined the community. That’s what the word ‘garden’ means. It’s more like a national park than a manicured garden, though. It’s a place full of biodiversity, with caterpillars and things that might eat some of the plants, rather than a place that relies on lots of pesticides.
Of course, there are people in the Ethereum community who say things that are too radical or even ridiculous. But they can also come up with some useful and original ideas. The important thing is not to suppress them, but to let nature take its course. I use the word garden to describe this natural state of balance, but I dont think any word is perfect.
In her opinion, decentralization is not only a technical challenge, but also a change in mindset. The privacy risks, data monopoly and abuse of power brought about by centralization have profoundly affected our lives. The decentralized thinking advocated by Ethereum can enable us to re-examine the social structure and change the relationship between people and technology.
Ayas leadership style is deeply influenced by Zen philosophy, which is somewhat similar to the Taoist rule by inaction, in stark contrast to the traditional top-down management style.
She likened herself to a Zen teacher, training the team and community members to maintain the spirit of Ethereum in a decentralized environment.
She cited “The Merge” upgrade as an example, emphasizing that this major technological change was accomplished without a “boss” or central authority, reflecting the self-coordination ability of the Ethereum community.
Under her leadership, the Ethereum Foundation has supported a number of public products and open source tools, such as Etherisc, etc. In addition, she has participated in the World Economic Forums Global Blockchain Council and served as a board member of the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance, expanding Ethereums cooperation in the enterprise field.
Questioning and Persistence
Ayas values and management style have been supported and recognized by Vitalik, but have also aroused doubts from the outside world.
In summary, the doubts about Aya are mainly reflected in five aspects:
Eligibility Dispute
Some industry KOLs believed that her background (such as English literature and previous high school teaching experience) was not sufficient for the role of executive director and questioned her professional ability.
For example, crypto influencer CoinMamba believes she would not have even made it past the first round of interviews at other organizations.
Slow progress
Ethereums scalability issue has always been a focus of community attention. Some users believe that under Ayas leadership, the expansion solution has been slow to progress, causing Ethereum to lag behind competitors such as Solana in market competition.
Spending issues
The foundations financial management has also been the focus of criticism, with some users arguing that the foundation, with $800 million in reserves, has spent too much and produced too little.
Hands-off management, insufficient support for developers
The Ethereum Foundation has been criticized for being too hands-off and failing to actively support developers in the ecosystem. Community members believe that the Foundation is too passive in technical support and resource allocation, causing developers to take on more responsibility on their own.
$ETH underperforms
Some criticism has been directed at the disappointing performance of the Ethereum token in the market, arguing that under Ayas leadership, Ethereum has lost its lead over its competitors.
Despite the above criticism, Vitalik Buterin actively defended Aya on X, emphasizing her contributions in promoting Ethereum upgrades, Devcon events, and maintaining Ethereum culture, and criticized the communitys offensive behavior as disgusting.
A new chapter in the Infinite Garden
On February 26, 2025, Aya Miyaguchi announced her transition from executive director to chairperson, and she also wrote the article A New Chapter for Infinite Gardens, which is seen as her declaration of the future.
Aya emphasized the need to be guided by philosophy and maintain the values of Ethereum:
Ethereum’s major technical advances, such as merging and the move to proof-of-stake, embody the philosophy of leading without controlling.
The Foundations goal is to help Ethereum achieve long-term sustainability rather than pursuing short-term gains or traditional corporate expansion.
Ethereum’s uniqueness lies in its interweaving of technology and social innovation, making it an infinite garden.
The concept of decentralization has a profound impact on global society and democratic systems, and the Foundation is committed to upholding this value.
In summary, it can be summed up as follows: Subtraction, not minimalism. Long-term sustainability, not short-term profit. Thoughtful complexity, not oversimplification. Management, not control. Adaptive growth, not rigid structure. Purposeful evolution, not corporate expansion. Community leadership, not domination.
An interesting phenomenon is that in discussions on the Chinese Internet, when an organization is criticized, people tend to think that there are bad people around xx, and xx was deceived by the bad people, similar to King Zhou was bewitched by Daji. In the critical discussion against Ethereum, Aya became a similar bad guy.
This is a bit unfair to Aya, as she has never changed and has always acted in accordance with her values and ways. It was Vitalik and the Ethereum Foundation who chose Aya, and both parties agreed on the same values.
In the crypto world where price drives attitudes, rising prices are justice, and values and ideologies are often viewed as a form of nihilism. To please Leviathan and integrate with authority is the easiest thing to do, which can immediately send asset prices to the moon. However, refusing to compromise and adhering to the ideals and principles of decentralization is more difficult and valuable.
Of course, we must also remain vigilant and supervise. History tells us that many movements under the banner of lofty ideals may also become tools of power.
Ethereums journey is both a technological exploration and an experiment in human values.
The ideal of decentralization may be difficult to achieve, but it is precisely this difficulty that makes it particularly precious.
As Mask founder Suji quoted a famous quote from Murakami Murakami at an event in Hong Kong:
Between a high, solid wall and an egg crashing into it, I will always side with the egg.
