Key Takeaways
- Xen Baynham-Herd, Head of Global Builders at Base, reported a lack of frustration among developers on Coinbase’s layer-2 network.
- Ethereum core developer Péter Szilágyi voiced concerns about the Ethereum Foundation being controlled by a select group.
- Baynham-Herd credited Base’s positive developer environment to its commercial structure under Coinbase.
Developer Sentiment on Base vs. Ethereum Foundation
Xen Baynham-Herd, Head of Global Builders at Base, has indicated that developers building on Coinbase’s layer-2 network, Base, are not experiencing any significant unrest. This statement from Base serves to differentiate its developer community from the internal tensions recently brought to light within the Ethereum Foundation.
Ethereum Veteran Criticizes Foundation Leadership
In a widely circulated memo, long-time Ethereum core developer Péter Szilágyi accused the Ethereum Foundation’s leadership structure of being dominated by a ruling elite who will never relinquish control. He also suggested that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin exerts substantial indirect influence over the network’s trajectory.
“Ethereum may be decentralized, but Vitalik absolutely has complete indirect control over it,” Szilágyi wrote.
Szilágyi elaborated that Buterin’s attention, direction of research, brainpower, donations, and investments absolutely define which projects succeed. He further posited, the key to gray-area behavior is to convince Vitalik it’s ok-ish.
Szilágyi, who joined the Foundation in 2015 and leads Geth (Go Ethereum), the most prevalent Ethereum node client, stated that projects seeking Foundation support primarily need to gain the approval of the correct 5–10 people around Vitalik.
Since y’all spammed my timeline full of #Ethereum existential crises, here’s a letter I sent to EF leadership in a year and half ago 😬.
(link in next post because Twitter…)
— Péter Szilágyi (@peter_szilagyi) October 19, 2025
Base’s Developer Culture Contrasted
When questioned about similar frustrations among teams building on Base, Baynham-Herd stated that he had not observed such issues.
“I don’t see that at Base actually,” he told CCN at ZebuLive in London on Tuesday.
“The top projects on Base I think pay competitively,” he added. “At least I’ve not heard any problems from developers building on Base projects.”
Baynham-Herd highlighted a key difference: while Ethereum’s core contributors operate within a non-profit structure managed by the Foundation, Base’s ecosystem, incubated by Coinbase, adheres to a more commercial model.
This commercial framework allows for direct revenue and growth opportunities for developers, a distinction Baynham-Herd suggested likely contributes to the absence of similar tensions within Base’s developer culture.
Summary of Insights
The recent criticisms from Ethereum core developer Péter Szilágyi have brought to light internal challenges within the Ethereum Foundation’s leadership. In contrast, Xen Baynham-Herd of Base has reported a positive and unfrustrated developer environment on Coinbase’s layer-2 network, attributing this to Base’s commercial structure under Coinbase.