Aya Miyaguchi: Teacher, Executive Director of Ethereum and Her "Infinite Garden"

Author: Zen, PANews

Since the beginning of this year, Aya Miyaguchi, the Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation, has become the focus of community discussions. Some opponents have called for a change in leadership at the foundation, and there have even been malicious threats against her online. On the other hand, her supporters argue that since Miyaguchi took office in 2018, she has been consistently promoting the decentralization and long-term development of the foundation.

Regardless of criticism or praise, it is undeniable that Aya Miyaguchi, with over a decade of experience in both education and the cryptocurrency industry, has carved out a unique path. Her story is anything but conventional: from a high school teacher in Japan to entering the cryptocurrency industry; from an educator in the classroom to an evangelist in the crypto space, and eventually becoming the leader of the Ethereum Foundation. She has continuously crossed fields and transformed her identity.

From "Passionate Teacher" to "Pioneer" in Cryptocurrency

Aya Miyaguchi was once a high school teacher in Japan, known for her passion for teaching and nurturing students, earning her the title of "passionate teacher." She particularly enjoyed designing creative teaching methods and stories for her students, inspiring them to think independently, critique, and explore.

"Like many other young teachers, I felt uneasy about entering the teaching profession right after graduating from university." After working in the education sector for over a decade, Miyaguchi grew tired of only teaching textbook knowledge; she wanted to guide students on how to think and learn independently as "whole individuals."

As a teacher, Miyaguchi often advised her students to have at least one experience of going abroad in their lifetime. She also realized that as a teacher, she needed to see the outside world and try other career experiences. Miyaguchi subsequently resigned from her job and went to the United States to pursue a master's degree in business. It was during this time that her life began to intersect with blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Image source: WIRED.jp

Miyaguchi started engaging with Bitcoin in 2011. As someone without a technical background, it took her a long time to truly understand the concept of Bitcoin. After delving into the main advantages of Bitcoin, Miyaguchi believed it had immense potential for financial inclusion and social impact. While pursuing her MBA, Miyaguchi focused her research on sustainable business and personally enjoyed studying microfinance, particularly how to help women in developing countries achieve economic independence. Miyaguchi increasingly believed that Bitcoin could play a significant role in this regard.

Jesse Powell, the founder of Kraken, one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges, was the first "noble person" to formally bring Miyaguchi into the industry. Through their discussions, the potential of emerging technologies opened her eyes, especially the possibilities of blockchain for financial inclusion, socioeconomic inequality, and human coordination. In 2013, Miyaguchi joined Kraken, which was just beginning to hire, with only a few team members. Initially, Miyaguchi was responsible for Kraken's operations in Japan and later became the Managing Director of Kraken Japan.

In 2014, just as Miyaguchi was starting to expand Kraken's business in Japan, the leading exchange Mt. Gox collapsed. The scandal became widely known, and due to various negative reports, Bitcoin and Mt. Gox entered the public eye, leading to a first impression of Bitcoin in Japan that was filled with panic and distrust.

As a result, Miyaguchi had to take action. She proactively contacted the government departments responsible for researching Bitcoin and related regulatory affairs, introduced her background, and explained her relevant experience in the field. She also collaborated with the self-regulatory organization "Digital Asset Transfer Authority" (DATA) to persuade the Japanese government not to regulate the cryptocurrency industry at that time, and these meetings became the starting point for regulatory discussions. Miyaguchi also co-founded the Japan Authority of Digital Assets (JADA) and participated in regulatory discussions multiple times, ultimately contributing to Japan's cryptocurrency regulatory framework launched in 2017.

Joining Ethereum: Coordinating Community, Projects, and Fund Management

In February 2018, Miyaguchi's career took another significant turn when she accepted an invitation from Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin to officially join the Ethereum Foundation as Executive Director. Founded in 2015, the Ethereum Foundation is an organization aimed at promoting research, development, and application of Ethereum, while also supporting community activities to advance Ethereum's development. Miyaguchi is primarily responsible for coordinating and organizing various activities of the foundation, including internal affairs and collaboration with community members, such as conducting education and hosting events.

In fact, Miyaguchi and Vitalik had known each other since 2013. After starting work at Kraken, Miyaguchi met the then 19-year-old Vitalik, who was writing articles for Bitcoin Magazine and busy promoting the Ethereum white paper. For Miyaguchi, this encounter was a crucial turning point, as she later realized that Ethereum's potential far exceeded her imagination.

Ethereum is not only capable of conducting Bitcoin-like financial transactions; more importantly, it can bring revolutionary changes to non-financial fields. Through smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps), Ethereum can support new governance models, environmental solutions, and educational systems. These ideas deeply resonated with Miyaguchi, who believed that if Ethereum could realize the visions outlined in its white paper, it would change the world. Thus, when Vitalik extended the olive branch, Miyaguchi quickly agreed and decided to dedicate herself to Ethereum, becoming a core team member.
Image source: WIRED.jp

The open-source nature of Ethereum means that more and more contributors come from the community, and the rapid increase of these external contributors has made coordinating internal and external work increasingly challenging. As the largest blockchain ecosystem, the Ethereum community is vast, encompassing anyone doing anything on Ethereum, including individuals, organizations, enterprises, and the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance (EEA).

When Miyaguchi joined, the foundation was at a relatively difficult stage. Upon entering the foundation, Miyaguchi faced significant challenges. The work of the Ethereum Foundation involved not only technical research and development but also coordinating the community, promoting project funding, and managing finances. Miyaguchi's goal was to communicate with as many different groups as possible to ensure that Ethereum's development was the result of multi-party collaboration. She once stated, "Our role is more like that of a coordinator rather than a manager. Our goal is to promote the overall development of Ethereum, not to monopolize the work."

Ethereum and the "Infinite Garden"

Perhaps unable to let go of her identity as a teacher, Miyaguchi, who once acted as a "gardener" on campus, likes to compare Ethereum to an "infinite garden," a metaphor derived from James P. Carse's book "Finite and Infinite Games." In her view, Ethereum is not just a technical project but an "infinite game." In a "finite game," the players' goal is to win the game; in an "infinite game," the players' goal is to keep playing and continually drive progress. In her heart, "the mission of Ethereum is not to quickly gain short-term profits but to promote the popularization and development of decentralization in the long run."

The metaphor of a "garden" also carries deeper meaning. In Miyaguchi's view, the Ethereum community is like a national park, rather than a meticulously manicured garden. It is filled with diversity and vitality; although there may sometimes be radical voices or strange ideas, these can also become sources of new creativity. Just like the ecosystem in nature, the decentralized Ethereum ecosystem needs to maintain this diversity and inclusiveness.

Throughout Ethereum's development, Miyaguchi has consistently emphasized that decentralization is not just a technical challenge but a transformation of mindset. She believes that the value of decentralization is not only reflected in the financial sector but also encompasses all aspects of society. Many people have yet to realize that the privacy risks, data monopolies, and power abuses brought about by centralization have permeated our lives. The decentralized thinking advocated by Ethereum allows us to fundamentally re-examine social structures and change our relationships with others and with technology.

The Decentralization Dilemma of the Ethereum Foundation

In an early interview, Miyaguchi stated that questions about how the foundation operates and what its functions should be should be discussed internally. However, regarding how technology should be used or how governance should operate, these should not be decided by the foundation or Vitalik. "He, as an individual who has made significant contributions to Ethereum, has his own views. But as I said, this should not be decided by anyone in the foundation. Foundation members can certainly have their own opinions and lean towards certain choices, but when it comes to governance decisions, the final decision should not be made by the foundation."

However, as a decentralized project, the lack of transparency and community involvement in major decisions such as personnel appointments within the foundation has long been a criticized issue. Miyaguchi's predecessor, Executive Director Ming Chan, faced significant criticism within the Ethereum community, accused of being overly controlling and opaque, and failing to effectively establish an organizational structure. Miyaguchi, on the other hand, was directly appointed through internal invitations, after being "interviewed" by Vitalik and researchers and developers within the team.

Miyaguchi has also responded to the criticism of this hiring process, stating that the foundation could certainly adopt a public approach and let the community decide. "If community members believe this is the best way and make such a suggestion, that is also acceptable." But at the same time, this process involves not only the community but also the internal organizational management of the foundation. They need someone with global work experience and long-term experience in the crypto field, and I was told they believed I met those criteria. "So while this process is not public, I think letting the community decide is also a good idea."

Recently, in an unofficial on-chain vote involving Ethereum community members, former core researcher Danny Ryan received 99.98% absolute support and was nominated as the next head of the foundation. Consensys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin also suggested that Danny Ryan and Jerome de Tychey, president of ETH France, jointly lead the EF to enhance technical orientation and vitality.

Danny Ryan, a former core researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, played a key role in critical upgrades such as Proof of Stake (PoS) and The Merge. At the beginning of this year, when Miyaguchi was at the center of controversy, Ryan also stepped forward to call for an end to the "mob-style criticism" against her. Ryan stated that regardless of his identity in participating in Ethereum's future, he highly respects and recognizes Miyaguchi's leadership abilities, describing her as having profound strategic vision and pure intentions. "There are many reasons why Ethereum has thrived over the years, and Aya has played an important role in that. My success in Ethereum has always been inseparable from her support and guidance," Ryan expressed in a tweet.

Vitalik Buterin also defended Aya Miyaguchi against the accusations, pointing out that there were translation discrepancies in the relevant quotes and criticizing some of the alleged violent attacks against her as "pure malice." Vitalik also clearly stated in a tweet that the decision-making power of the current EF new leadership team rests with him, and the ongoing reforms aim to introduce a formal board of directors for the foundation, but until then, the decision-making power still belongs to him personally.