Ethereum Foundation
Conflict of Interest Policy
46 | 47 | In order to serve the Ethereum ecosystem the EF must have high 48 | integrity. This means that our actions must be sincerely motivated by 49 | the long-term interests of the Ethereum ecosystem. 50 |
51 | 52 |53 | To preserve that integrity, the EF has adopted a conflict of interest 54 | (COI) policy in 2024. The purpose of this policy is to help guide and 55 | set some boundaries for EF team members (“EFers”) on how they navigate 56 | certain relationships with the broader Ethereum ecosystem, especially 57 | where such relationships could affect the EF’s integrity or 58 | reputation for integrity. 59 |
60 | 61 |62 | The most important way in which we preserve the EF’s integrity is by 63 | hiring people who already demonstrate high integrity, and for them to 64 | exercise good judgment. This policy is intended to support EFers in 65 | exercising such good judgment, by providing clearer guidance, 66 | establishing a process by which EFers can discuss specific 67 | circumstances, and setting some boundaries we believe are necessary 68 | to deal with extreme cases. 69 |
70 | 71 |72 | Following the first year of operating the initial policy (v 1.0), we 73 | assessed its performance, collected feedback, and made updates. We 74 | plan to review the policy annually and refine it as the ecosystem and 75 | our understanding progress. 76 |
77 | 78 |Summary of EF Conflict of Interest Policy v 1.1
80 | 81 |82 | EFers can invest in liquid crypto assets without limits 83 |
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- 86 | But must tell the EF about investments above $500K (other than 87 | ETH) 88 | 89 |
- 90 | In some cases, extremely high exposure might require recusal 91 | from decisions that relate to the conflict, or other 92 | mitigations 93 | 94 |
96 | For other potential conflicts of interest, EFers must consult with 97 | an internal discussion group composed of EF management, the 98 | EFer’s team lead, EF legal, EF people ops, and other EFers 99 | currently serving a rotating 1-year term in the internal 100 | discussion group. 101 |
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- 104 | The goal of the discussion group is for the EFer and others to 105 | think together through the risks, downsides, and upsides of the 106 | opportunity 107 | 108 |
- 109 | The EFer shares responsibility for considering how a potential 110 | conflict could impact the EF’s integrity 111 | 112 |
- 113 | In some cases, the discussion group might require mitigations 114 | like recusals on certain decisions relating to the potential 115 | conflict, or deny the opportunity entirely 116 | 117 |
121 | Examples of specific categories of potential conflicts of interest: 122 |
123 | 124 |125 | EFers can take on work outside the EF with liquid pay at observable 126 | fair market value 127 |
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- 130 | But must tell the EF before starting and consult their team 131 | lead 132 | 133 |
- 134 | If the total value of the outside work is above $25K annually, 135 | it must be reviewed by the discussion group 136 | 137 |
139 | EFers can take on work outside the EF with illiquid/locked pay at 140 | observable fair market value and in untraded assets 141 |
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- 144 | But must tell the EF, and the discussion group must review it 145 | 146 |
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147 | The discusion group will consider factors like:
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- 150 | Whether the EFer’s work is directly related to the subject 151 | of the outside work 152 | 153 |
- 154 | Whether we have information about the value of the asset 155 | used for payment 156 | 157 |
- 158 | Whether there is significant upside to the Ethereum 159 | ecosystem for the EFer to accept the opportunity 160 | 161 |
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165 | EFers can make angel investments 166 |
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- But must tell the EF before investing 169 |
- 170 | Investments above $10K USD should be disclosed before making 171 | them; the discussion group reviews them and may set 172 | mitigations. 173 | 174 |
176 | EFers can invest in funds 177 |
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- 180 | But must tell the EF before investing, and the discussion group 181 | must review each investment 182 | 183 |
185 | EFers can co-found projects while at the EF 186 |
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- 189 | But must tell the EF before co-founding, and it must be 190 | reviewed by the discussion group 191 | 192 |
- 193 | Must be regularly re-assessed for material changes, which may 194 | result in future mitigations 195 | 196 |
- 197 | EFers must understand and accept the risk that co-founding a 198 | project could develop into a situation that is incompatible 199 | with staying at the EF 200 | 201 |
Additional notes
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- 207 | This COI policy applies only to potential conflicts within the 208 | crypto and web3 ecosystem 209 | 210 |
- 211 | EFers need to annually update their internal conflict disclosures 212 | to EF leadership 213 | 214 |
- 215 | This policy applies to all full and part-time EFers, including 216 | contractors and employees 217 | 218 |
- 219 | However, this policy does not apply to EF interns, fellows, 220 | grantees, or certain advisory roles 221 | 222 |
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