An informal poll among Ethereum (ETH) holders has revealed strong support for former Ethereum researcher Danny Ryan to become the next leader of the Ethereum Foundation (EF). Wallets collectively holding over 51,198 ETH (approximately $164 million) cast their votes in favor of Ryan. At the same time, there are calls for the Aave DAO to take over the EF amid ongoing leadership concerns.

Overwhelming Support for Ryan

According to on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain, 97% of the 335 voters backed Danny Ryan in the unofficial vote. “In an informal Ethereum poll, 97% of 335 voters voted for former Ethereum researcher Danny Ryan to become the next leader of the Ethereum Foundation. These wallets hold more than 51,198 ETH ($164M),” Lookonchain reported.

Despite this overwhelming support, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has made it clear that social media pressure will not influence leadership changes. “No. This is not how this game works. The person deciding the new EF leadership team is me. One of the goals of the ongoing reform is to give the EF a ‘proper board,’ but until that happens, it’s me. If you ‘keep the pressure on,’ then you are creating an environment that is actively toxic to top talent,” Buterin emphasized.

Broader Discussions on Ethereum’s Future

The leadership discussion comes amidst broader conversations about Ethereum’s future direction. Tron founder Justin Sun has proposed ideas for reviving Ethereum, urging stakeholders to focus on enhancing scalability and improving network efficiency. Additionally, Uniswap CEO Hayden Adams has introduced an Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) aimed at transforming the ecosystem. His proposal includes a one-time inflationary event, with newly minted ETH allocated towards acquiring top decentralized finance (DeFi) projects and Layer-2 (L2) solutions.

Aave DAO’s Interest in Ethereum Foundation

In a parallel development, the Aave DAO has shown interest in a potential acquisition of the Ethereum Foundation. Nansen CEO Alex Svanevik suggested that the Aave DAO should acquire the EF, to which Aave DAO founder Marc Zeller responded enthusiastically, “Let’s do it.”

Zeller elaborated on Aave’s financial strategy, highlighting that the DAO has never sold ETH. Instead, it provides wrapped Ethereum (wETH) liquidity through Aave while maintaining a diversified treasury across multiple platforms, including Lido Finance, Rocket Pool, and Ether.fi, among others. “Aave DAO increases its ETH-correlated reserves by approximately 100 ETH per week,” Zeller noted.

However, concerns were raised about how Aave manages expenses, particularly during market downturns. One user questioned whether the DAO continuously borrows against its collateral for expenses. Zeller responded confidently, “We’re deeply profitable. We did an AFUERA campaign to trim the fat, and we’re up only since then.”

Conclusion

While Vitalik Buterin remains firmly in control of EF leadership decisions, the informal vote in favor of Danny Ryan reflects a growing community-driven push for restructuring. Whether the Ethereum Foundation undergoes formal changes remains to be seen, but the conversation has undoubtedly gained momentum.

Recent data from BeInCrypto shows that Ethereum’s price has increased by over 5% since the Thursday session opened. As of this writing, ETH is trading at $3,251.