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Most Influential 2021: Danny Ryan

The Ethereum Foundation programmer took lead on the much anticipated London hard fork.

Updated Apr 10, 2024, 3:16 a.m. Published Dec 9, 2021, 8:24 p.m.
(Adam B. Levine/Pixelmind.ai)
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Did Danny Ryan, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, make ETH “super sound money?” The jury is still out. More data needs to be collected to determine how deflationary the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization may have become following a network update Ryan led.

This summer, Ethereum’s much-anticipated London hard fork went live. And with it, Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs) 1559, 3554, 3529, 3198 and 3541, or code upgrades that aimed to improve the Ethereum network’s user experience and value proposition. Most notable was EIP 1559, a change to the network’s gas protocol, which even if it didn’t make Ethereum burn more coins than it mints, made transaction fees more predictable.

Ryan also played a major role in the 2020 launch of the Beacon chain, the first step toward Ethereum 2.0, or the ambitious plan to move Ethereum to proof-of-stake. There’s more coming down the pike.

The Complete List: CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2021

(Kevin Ross/CoinDesk)
(Kevin Ross/CoinDesk)


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Ethereum Foundation’s new mandate sparks debate about its role, priorities

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The document quickly sparked debate across the Ethereum community, with supporters saying it reinforces the network’s core principles. Critics, however, argue the mandate signals the foundation intends to take a backseat just as institutional interest in blockchain is accelerating.

What to know:

  • The Ethereum Foundation released a new 38-page mandate outlining its role as a neutral steward focused on maintaining Ethereum’s decentralized infrastructure and supporting public goods rather than directing the ecosystem.
  • The document quickly sparked debate across the Ethereum community, with supporters saying it reinforces the network’s core principles — including decentralization, open-source development and credible neutrality — while clarifying that the foundation is not meant to build products.
  • Critics, however, argue the mandate signals the foundation intends to take a backseat just as institutional interest in blockchain is accelerating, raising concerns that Ethereum may need stronger coordination to compete with rival networks.