Ethereum Foundation Launches Advisory Group to Safeguard Core Values

The Ethereum Foundation (EF), the nonprofit organization backing Ethereum's ecosystem, has established an external advisory group to preserve the blockchain network's core values. On February 28, the foundation introduced the "Silviculture Society," a collective of individuals from outside the EF, tasked with providing informal counsel to the foundation and tending to the "forests in the infinite garden of Ethereum." The group aims to ensure that Ethereum maintains its core values of open source, privacy, security, and censorship resistance, as these values are crucial for the network's success and committed developers.

The EF announced a council of 15 individuals, including researchers, developers, and project founders, to help achieve these goals. This move comes amidst Vitalik Buterin's recent criticism of the crypto industry's moral shift towards gambling. On February 20, Buterin expressed his disappointment with the backlash against Ethereum for not embracing blockchain-based casinos, which he believes labels Ethereum as "bad and intolerant." However, he remains optimistic about the community's values after engaging with members offline.

In line with its open-source values, the EF recently pledged over $1.25 million for the legal defense of Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev. On February 26, the EF announced the donation, emphasizing that privacy is normal and that writing code is not a crime. Pertsev thanked the organization for the significant donation, which he said "means the world" to him as he prepares his appeal.