Ethereum Foundation in Turmoil: Geth’s Future Sparks Internal Power Struggle

Rifts emerge as Ethereum’s core devs clash over the fate of Geth—the backbone client handling over 80% of network transactions. Will ideology or pragmatism win?

The Battle Lines Drawn

Purists push decentralization at all costs, while realists argue client diversity can’t come at the expense of stability. Meanwhile, ETH whales keep stacking—because nothing says ‘faith in the project’ like hedging with Bitcoin.

What’s Next for the Merge’s MVP?

Geth’s dominance risks making Ethereum a single point-of-failure network. But replacing it could trigger the kind of chaos that sends gas fees to ATHs again. Devs are racing against time—and each other.

One thing’s certain: the Foundation’s handling of this crisis will determine whether ETH stays crypto’s institutional darling or becomes another ‘decentralization in theory’ cautionary tale.

Internal Conflicts Continue to Plague Ethereum Foundation

Tensions escalated following Szilágyi’s claims that the Foundation has repeatedly pushed for the Geth team to spin out as an independent company. 

He stated that EF offered $5 million to facilitate this separation. This raises concerns about the Foundation’s long-term commitment to supporting Geth internally.

I DARE you and the entire #Ethereum foundation to say that you didn''t offer $5M for us to spin out. Or that EF didn''t ask at least 3 times if we wanted to make a company instead and go off, just me and Felix and @mhswende pushed back. I dare @hwwonx to deny our Feb talk. https://t.co/s4eiLnYboP

Szilágyi, who leads Geth’s development, accused the Foundation of attempting to offload Core infrastructure while reshaping its role toward research and education. 

Also, he alleged that EF funded a separate, parallel Geth team within Nethermind without informing Geth’s existing developers.

The controversy began when Szilágyi posted on X that EF had recently dismissed four development teams and intended to sunset Geth within a few years. 

The comment is concerning for the Ethereum community, as it relies heavily on Geth for network stability.

Tomasz Stańczak, co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, responded swiftly. He rejected claims that Geth was being phased out.

There is no plan to remove Geth. It is a great client software and a talented team contributing to protocol security. We will maintain / support Geth and continue making it even better and faster.

Szilágyi countered with a series of posts disputing Stańczak’s statements. He challenged EF leadership to deny previous discussions about spinning out Geth and funding a separate client team. 

He claimed these efforts were presented multiple times, including in a February 2025 meeting.

Is the Ethereum Foundation Facing an Identity Crisis?

These events highlight deeper strategic changes within the Ethereum Foundation. Insiders say EF is repositioning itself as a research-first organization, with less focus on maintaining production-grade clients. 

Meanwhile, critics argue that the shift risks undermining software reliability if client teams are splintered or defunded.

Geth remains Ethereum’s dominant execution client. It’s responsible for a majority of nodes on the network. 

So, any perceived instability in its development could raise concerns about decentralization.

The Ethereum community has long emphasized the importance of having multiple clients. Efforts to reduce reliance on Geth have included grants to other teams, such as Besu, Nethermind, and Erigon. 

However, funding internal forks without transparency raises concerns about trust and governance.

As of now, the Ethereum Foundation has not issued an official statement addressing the spinout discussions or the claims about the Nethermind fork. 

The outcome of this dispute may shape how Ethereum balances innovation, decentralization, and long-term software stewardship in the years ahead.