Péter Szilágyi, the lead developer of the Geth Ethereum client, has accused the Ethereum Foundation (EF) of undermining his team by secretly establishing a second Geth development team.

This undisclosed team operated independently, without collaboration with the existing Geth team, prompting Szilágyi to confront EF management.

Szilágyi alleged that the EF pressured the Geth team to become an independent entity, offering $5 million for this transition, which raised concerns about the Foundation's commitment to Geth.

He was reportedly fired from the EF after confronting Josh Stark, an EF representative, about the existence of the secret team.

This situation reflects broader strategic changes within the EF, with insiders suggesting a shift toward a research-first organization, potentially at the expense of maintaining production-grade clients.

The Foundation's efforts to promote client diversity, including a similar $5 million investment in Parity, indicate a strategy to reduce reliance on Geth.

The controversy escalated when Szilágyi claimed that the EF funded this separate Geth development team within Nethermind without informing the current Geth developers.

Following a scheduled meeting to address the secret team issue, Szilágyi was terminated within 24 hours for allegedly threatening to quit, leading to ongoing tensions with the Foundation.

Despite these conflicts, Tomasz Stańczak, co-executive director of EF, publicly assured that Geth remains valuable and will continue to be maintained, contradicting Szilágyi's accounts.

The outcome of these disputes could significantly influence Ethereum's approach to innovation, decentralization, and software stewardship in the future.

Szilágyi's comments about the potential dismissal of development teams and the phasing out of Geth have sparked concern within the Ethereum community, which relies heavily on Geth for network stability.

On June 2, 2025, the EF announced staff cuts and a restructuring of its core development team to improve Ethereum's scalability and user experience, which has faced criticism for its complexity.