From high school teacher to chair of the Ethereum Foundation, Aya and her infinite garden

Author: Deep Tide TechFlow

On February 25, amidst widespread skepticism towards Ethereum, Aya Miyaguchi, who has previously been at the center of public opinion, was appointed as the new chair of the Ethereum Foundation.

This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision; the transition from the current executive director to the chair of the Ethereum Foundation (EF) has been planned for a year.

In her blog post, Aya Miyaguchi stated, "Ethereum belongs to everyone, and because it does not belong to anyone, we allow a culture of differing opinions that not only tolerates differences but becomes stronger through them. The role of the Ethereum Foundation has never been to control or own all aspects of Ethereum. Our responsibility is to uphold the values of Ethereum."

From Japanese classrooms to the infinite garden of the crypto world, Aya Miyaguchi's story is not only a unique career transformation but also a journey of safeguarding values.

From Japanese Classrooms to the Crypto World

Aya Miyaguchi's career began not in technology but in education.

She worked as a passionate teacher at a high school in Nagoya, Japan, dedicated to creatively designing courses that inspired independent thinking and critical spirit in her students.

However, after more than a decade of teaching, she began to feel uneasy—merely teaching textbook knowledge could not satisfy her pursuit of a deeper meaning in education. She wanted to help students become individuals capable of independently exploring the world, rather than just exam machines.

"As a teacher, I often told my students that they should have at least one experience of stepping outside the country in their lifetime."

Ultimately, she led by example and carved a new path for herself by choosing to resign from her teaching position and pursue an MBA in the United States.

This decision unexpectedly brought her into the world of blockchain and cryptocurrency.

During her studies in the U.S., Aya developed a strong interest in financial inclusion, believing that addressing inequality is crucial for businesses.

By chance, she met Jesse Powell, the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, and joined the company as the Managing Director for Kraken Japan.

However, her career was not without challenges.

In 2014, coinciding with the collapse of Japan's leading exchange Mt. Gox, the public image of cryptocurrency in Japan plummeted. Faced with panic and distrust, Miyaguchi proactively contacted government agencies to participate in regulatory discussions and collaborated with industry organizations, contributing to the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency that Japan later launched in 2017.

An interesting episode occurred in 2013 when she met then-19-year-old Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin at the Kraken office. At that time, he was not yet "Vitalik," but a contributor to Bitcoin Magazine, writing the Ethereum white paper.

Aya later recalled that she did not fully understand the technical details of Ethereum at the time, but she recognized the technology's potential to change the world. She was attracted to Ethereum's vision, especially appreciating its non-profit nature and the community's commitment to core values. In her view, Ethereum is not just a technology but a new worldview that can challenge existing centralized power structures.

In 2018, after leaving Kraken, Aya was invited by Vitalik to join the Ethereum Foundation.

At that time, the foundation faced numerous challenges, including coordinating internal and external activities and establishing non-development functions. Despite the daunting tasks, she accepted the role, seeing it as an opportunity to realize her personal ideals.

"When the crypto industry began to show a profit-driven atmosphere, I felt that Ethereum might be the last hope to achieve my original vision of how decentralized technology could help realize financial inclusion and provide banking services to the unbanked. I had to help."

As the executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, Aya adopted a unique leadership style, which she referred to as the "subtraction principle"—actively diminishing her own power to avoid centralized decision-making while maintaining Ethereum's open culture and decentralized spirit.

She described Ethereum as an "infinite garden," emphasizing its organic development characteristics and the importance of long-term thinking over short-term gains.

"Infinite Garden" and Zen Management

For Aya, Ethereum is not just a technical project but an "infinite garden" that embodies the ideals of decentralization.

This metaphor originates from James P. Carse's "Finite and Infinite Games." She believes that Ethereum's mission is not to win short-term profits but to continuously promote the dissemination and development of decentralization ideals.

She likens the Ethereum community to a natural park that has not been meticulously groomed, full of diversity and vitality. While there may sometimes be radical voices or strange ideas, these can also become sources of future innovation.

"The Ethereum ecosystem did not initially have clear goals or milestones set by the Ethereum Foundation; it grew organically as people from different backgrounds joined the community. That’s the meaning of the word 'garden.' However, rather than being a neatly trimmed garden, it is more like a national park. It is a place full of biodiversity, with caterpillars and things that might eat some plants, rather than a place reliant on a lot of pesticides.

Of course, there are people in the Ethereum community who may say overly radical or even absurd things. But they can also propose useful and original ideas. The important thing is not to suppress them but to let nature take its course. I use the term 'garden' to describe this natural state of balance, but I believe no single word is perfect."

In her view, decentralization is not just a technical challenge but a transformation of mindset. The privacy risks, data monopolies, and abuse of power brought about by centralization have profoundly affected our lives. The decentralized thinking advocated by Ethereum allows us to re-examine social structures and change the relationship between people and technology.

Aya's leadership style is deeply influenced by Zen philosophy. It is somewhat akin to the Daoist principle of "wu wei" (non-action), contrasting sharply with traditional top-down management approaches.

She compares herself to a Zen master, training team and community members to uphold the spirit of Ethereum in a decentralized environment.

She cites "The Merge" upgrade as an example, emphasizing that this significant technological transformation was accomplished without a "boss" or central authority, reflecting the self-coordination capabilities of the Ethereum community.

Under her leadership, the Ethereum Foundation has supported multiple public goods and open-source tools, such as the Etherisc project. Additionally, she has participated in the World Economic Forum's Global Blockchain Council and served as a board member of the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance, expanding Ethereum's collaborations in the enterprise sector.

Questioning and Persistence

Aya's values and management style have received support and recognition from Vitalik, but they have also sparked external skepticism.

In summary, the criticisms of Aya mainly focus on five aspects:

Qualification Controversy

Some industry KOLs believe her background (such as English literature and her previous experience as a high school teacher) is insufficient for the role of executive director, questioning her professional capabilities.

For example, crypto KOL CoinMamba believes she might not even pass the first round of interviews in other organizations.

Slow Progress

The issue of Ethereum's scalability has always been a focal point for the community, with some users believing that under Aya's leadership, the progress on scalability solutions has been slow, causing Ethereum to lag behind competitors like Solana in market competition.

Spending Issues

The foundation's financial management has also been a key point of criticism. Some users believe that while the foundation has a reserve of $800 million, its spending is too high relative to its achievements.

Laissez-Faire Management and Insufficient Support for Developers

The Ethereum Foundation has been criticized for being too "hands-off," failing to actively support developers within the ecosystem. Community members feel that the foundation has been too passive in technical support and resource allocation, leading developers to bear more responsibility on their own.

Poor Performance of $ETH

Some criticisms point to the disappointing performance of the Ethereum token in the market, arguing that under Aya's leadership, Ethereum has lost its competitive edge.

Despite the aforementioned criticisms, Vitalik Buterin has actively defended Aya on X, emphasizing her contributions to advancing Ethereum upgrades, Devcon events, and maintaining Ethereum's culture, while criticizing the community's attacks as "disgusting."

A New Chapter for the Infinite Garden

On February 26, 2025, Aya Miyaguchi announced her transition from executive director to chair, writing an article titled “A New Chapter for the Infinite Garden,” which she views as her declaration for the future.

Aya emphasized the need to uphold Ethereum's values guided by philosophy:

The significant technological advancements of Ethereum (such as the Merge and the transition to proof of stake) reflect a philosophy of leading without controlling.

The foundation's goal is to help Ethereum achieve long-term sustainability rather than pursue short-term profits or traditional corporate-style expansion.

Ethereum's uniqueness lies in the intertwining of its technology and social innovation, making it an infinite garden.

The ideals of decentralization have profound implications for global society and democratic systems, and the foundation is committed to upholding these values.

In summary, it can be distilled to: Subtraction, not minimalism. Long-term sustainability, not short-term gains. Thoughtful complexity, not oversimplification. Management, not control. Adaptive growth, not rigid structures. Purposeful evolution, not corporate expansion. Community leadership, not dominance.

An interesting phenomenon is that in discussions on the Chinese internet, when an organization is criticized, people tend to think "xx has bad people around them, xx has been deceived by bad people," similar to "King Zhou was bewitched by Daji." In the criticisms directed at Ethereum, Aya has become a similar "bad person."

This seems somewhat unfair to Aya; she has never changed and has always acted according to her values and methods. It is Vitalik and the Ethereum Foundation that chose Aya, representing a convergence of values on both sides.

In the price-driven crypto world, rising prices equate to justice, and values and ideologies are often seen as a form of "nihilism." To please the "Leviathan" and integrate into authority is the simplest thing to do, instantly driving asset prices to the moon. However, refusing to "compromise" and persisting in the ideals and principles of decentralization is much more challenging and valuable.

Of course, we must also remain vigilant and supervise, as history tells us that many movements claiming to uphold "noble ideals" can also become tools of power.

The journey of Ethereum is both a technological exploration and an experiment in human values.

The ideals of decentralization may be difficult to achieve, but it is precisely this difficulty that makes them particularly precious.

As Suji, the founder of Mask, quoted a famous saying by Haruki Murakami at an event in Hong Kong:

"Between a hard high wall and an egg that crashes against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg."