Another Ethereum researcher reveals advisor role at EigenLayer following Justin Drake

Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist revealed on Monday on X that he had “recently” become an advisor to EigenLayer, on the same conditions as fellow Ethereum researcher Justin Drake, who had disclosed his advisory role on Sunday.

Neither Feist nor Drake specified the exact timeline when they had taken the advisory role at EigenLayer.

“I am taking this position personally, not representing the Ethereum Foundation, and with a focus on risks and decentralization,” Feist wrote in his X post. “I am therefore fully expected to take contrarian views on Eigenlayer.”

Feist said he receives a “significant amount” of Eigen tokens from the position, but added that he believes it will not affect his thoughts on the protocol and its future development.

Possible conflict of interest

The disclosures came amidst discussions surrounding the possible conflicts of interest between EigenLayer and members of the Ethereum Foundation, which followed a question crypto trader and influencer Jordan Fish, also known as Cobie, threw at Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in a reply tweet.

“How do you feel about Ethereum Foundation core developers or researchers taking life-changing $ packages from projects built on Ethereum to become ‘advisors’, when those projects may have conflicted incentives with Ethereum, either now or in the future?,” Fish said. “For example — purely theoretically of course — let’s say, EigenLayer.”

Buterin did not respond to the question. However, Drake made his X announcement the following morning. “I feel the community deserves transparency,” Drake said.

While Drake has pledged to “reinject all advisorship proceeds” into Ethereum projects either as investments or donations, Feist did not mention any similar commitment in his post. Instead, Feist listed what he viewed as the risks and benefits of restaking. 

Drake, Feist and the Ethereum Foundation did not immediately respond to The Block’s request for further comment.