The Ethereum Foundation has played a crucial role in the evolution of the blockchain ecosystem. They pioneered the Swiss foundation structure and ran one of the first token sales. They played a key role in developing the second-most valuable blockchain network and still play a key role in funding research and steering the future of Ethereum.
At the same time, it has been frequently criticized for a lack of transparency, being too slow in funding development and poor financial risk management. Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi joined us to discuss her journey into the space, the role of the Ethereum Foundation and their plans for the future.
Topics covered in this episode:

How Aya went from high school teacher to enter the crypto space
Joining Kraken and building their presence in Japan
The role of the Ethereum Foundation in the Ethereum ecosystem
Decision making processes and governance in the Ethereum Foundation
Ethereum's grant program and funding priorities
The Ethereum Foundation's plans to attempt to become more transparent
The Ethereum Foundation's approach to conflicts of interest
Why the EF decided to support MolochDAO
Whether Ethereum should be concerned about competition from other blockchain networks

Episode links:

Ethereum.org
Ethereum Foundation to Spend $30 Million on Development Over Next Year
Ethereum Foundation Website
Ethereum Foundation Values by Aya Miyaguchi (Devcon4) - YouTube
Ethereum Devcon 5 Japan - Oct 30 to Nov 2
DappCon Berlin - August 21 to 23

Sponsors:

Azure: Deploy enterprise-ready consortium blockchain networks that scale in just a few clicks - http://aka.ms/epicenter

This episode is hosted by Brian Fabian Crain & Friederike Ernst. Show notes and listening options: epicenter.tv/287