Aya Miyaguchi: Teacher, Executive Director of Ethereum, and Her "Infinite Garden"
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Aya Miyaguchi: Teacher, Executive Director of Ethereum, and Her "Infinite Garden"
Aya Miyaguchi, with over a decade of experience in both education and the crypto industry, has carved out a unique path—one that doesn't follow conventional rules.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Zen, PANews
Since the beginning of this year, Aya Miyaguchi, Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation, has become a focal point of community discussion. Some critics have called for the foundation to replace its leadership, and there have even been malicious online threats directed at her. On the other hand, her supporters argue that since taking office in 2018, Miyaguchi has consistently advanced the foundation's decentralization and long-term development.
Regardless of criticism or praise, it is undeniable that Aya Miyaguchi—drawing on over a decade of experience in both education and the crypto industry—has forged a unique path. Her story defies convention: from being a high school teacher in Japan, to entering the cryptocurrency field; from an educator in the classroom to a crypto evangelist, and ultimately to a leader of the Ethereum Foundation. She has continuously crossed boundaries and transformed her identity.
From "Passionate Teacher" to Cryptocurrency Pioneer
Aya Miyaguchi was once a Japanese high school teacher, known as the "passionate teacher" due to her love for teaching and strong enthusiasm. She particularly enjoyed designing creative teaching methods and stories for her students, aiming to inspire independent reflection, critical thinking, and exploration.
"Like many other young teachers, I felt uneasy about entering the teaching profession right after university," said Miyaguchi. After more than ten years in education, she grew tired of merely teaching textbook knowledge and wanted to guide students on how to think and grow independently as "whole individuals."
While teaching, Miyaguchi often encouraged her students to have at least one experience studying abroad. She also realized that as a teacher, she herself needed to see the world or try different career paths. Miyaguchi subsequently resigned and moved to the United States to pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA). It was during this time that her life began intersecting with blockchain and cryptocurrency.
Image source: WIRED.jp
Miyaguchi first encountered Bitcoin in 2011. As someone without a technical background, it took her a long time to truly understand Bitcoin's concept. After deeply understanding Bitcoin’s main advantages, she believed it held great potential in financial inclusion and social impact. While pursuing her MBA, Miyaguchi focused her research on sustainable business and had a personal interest in microfinance, especially how to help women in developing countries achieve economic independence. Miyaguchi became increasingly convinced that Bitcoin could play a significant role in this area.
Jesse Powell, founder of Kraken—one of the oldest cryptocurrency exchanges—was the first mentor who formally brought Miyaguchi into the industry. Through their conversations, the potential of emerging technologies opened her eyes, especially blockchain’s possibilities for financial inclusion, socioeconomic equality, and human coordination, which sparked her deep interest. In 2013, Miyaguchi joined Kraken, which was just beginning to hire staff and had only a small team. Initially responsible for Kraken’s operations in Japan, she later became Managing Director of Kraken Japan.
In 2014, shortly after Miyaguchi and Kraken began launching operations in Japan, the major exchange Mt. Gox collapsed. The scandal quickly spread through media coverage, bringing Bitcoin and Mt. Gox into public view under a cloud of negative publicity. The Japanese public’s first impression of Bitcoin was thus filled with fear and distrust.
Faced with this situation, Miyaguchi took action. She proactively contacted government departments then researching Bitcoin and related regulatory matters, introduced her background, and explained her experience in the field. She also collaborated with the self-regulatory organization "Digital Asset Transfer Authority" (DATA), helping persuade the Japanese government not to regulate the cryptocurrency industry at that time. These meetings became the starting point for regulatory discussions. Miyaguchi also co-founded the Japan Authority of Digital Assets (JADA) and participated multiple times in deep regulatory discussions, ultimately contributing to Japan’s introduction of a cryptocurrency regulatory framework in 2017.
Joining Ethereum: Coordinating Community, Projects, and Fund Management
In February 2018, Miyaguchi’s career took another major turn when she accepted an invitation from Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin to officially join the Ethereum Foundation as Executive Director. Established in 2015, the Ethereum Foundation aims to promote Ethereum’s research, development, and adoption, while also supporting community initiatives to advance Ethereum. Miyaguchi primarily oversees coordinating and organizing the foundation’s various activities, including internal operations and collaboration with community members, such as educational programs and event hosting.
In fact, Miyaguchi and Vitalik had first met back in 2013. After joining Kraken, Miyaguchi encountered the then 19-year-old Vitalik, who was writing articles for Bitcoin Magazine and actively promoting Ethereum’s white paper. For Miyaguchi, this encounter was a pivotal moment. She later realized that Ethereum’s potential far exceeded her imagination.
Ethereum could do more than just replicate Bitcoin-style financial transactions. More importantly, it had the power to revolutionize non-financial domains. Through smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps), Ethereum could support new models of governance, environmental solutions, and educational systems. These ideas deeply resonated with Miyaguchi. She believed that if Ethereum could realize the vision outlined in its white paper, it would change the world. When Vitalik offered her a position, Miyaguchi quickly accepted, deciding to dedicate herself to Ethereum as a core team member.
Image source: WIRED.jp
Ethereum’s open-source nature means an increasing number of contributors come from the community. The rapid growth of external contributors made coordinating internal and external work increasingly difficult. As the largest blockchain ecosystem, the Ethereum community is extremely broad, encompassing anyone building on Ethereum—including individuals, organizations, enterprises, and the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA).
When Miyaguchi joined, the foundation was going through a relatively difficult phase. Upon arrival, she faced significant challenges. The Ethereum Foundation’s work involved not only technical development but also community coordination, project funding, and financial management. Miyaguchi aimed to communicate with as many different groups as possible, ensuring Ethereum’s development was the result of multi-party collaboration. She once stated: "Our role is more like a coordinator rather than a manager. Our goal is to advance Ethereum as a whole, not to monopolize the work."
Ethereum and the "Infinite Garden"
Possibly never letting go of her passion for teaching, Miyaguchi—who once served as a "gardener" in academia—often likens Ethereum to an "infinite garden," a metaphor drawn from James P. Carse’s book *Finite and Infinite Games*. In her view, Ethereum is not merely a technical project but an "infinite game." In a "finite game," players aim to win; in an "infinite game," the goal is to keep playing and continuously drive progress. To her, "Ethereum’s mission is not about quickly gaining short-term profits, but about advancing the idea of decentralization for the long term."
The "garden" metaphor carries deeper meaning. To Miyaguchi, the Ethereum community resembles a national nature park rather than a meticulously manicured garden. It teems with diversity and vitality. Although there are sometimes radical voices or strange ideas, these too can become sources of innovation. Just like natural ecosystems, the decentralized Ethereum ecosystem must maintain such diversity and inclusiveness.
Throughout Ethereum’s development, Miyaguchi has consistently emphasized that decentralization is not just a technical challenge, but a shift in mindset. She believes the value of decentralization extends beyond finance into all levels of society. Many people have yet to realize that privacy risks, data monopolies, and abuse of power stemming from centralization have already permeated our lives. The decentralized thinking advocated by Ethereum allows us to fundamentally re-examine social structures and transform our relationships with others and with technology.
The Decentralization Myth of the Ethereum Foundation
In an early interview, Miyaguchi stated that questions about how the foundation operates and what its functions should be ought to be discussed internally. However, decisions about how technology should be used or how governance should function should not be made by the foundation or by Vitalik. "He is an individual who has made immense contributions to Ethereum and naturally holds his own views. But as I’ve said, no one within the foundation should make those decisions. Foundation members can certainly have opinions and lean toward certain choices, but when it comes to governance decisions, the final say should not rest with the foundation."
However, as a decentralized project, the lack of transparency and community involvement in major decisions such as personnel appointments at the foundation has long been criticized. Miyaguchi’s predecessor as Executive Director, Ming Chan, faced widespread criticism in the Ethereum community for being overly controlling, opaque, and failing to establish effective organizational structures. Miyaguchi herself was directly appointed through an internal invitation, following interviews with Vitalik and researchers and developers within the team.
Miyaguchi responded to criticism about this hiring process by stating that the foundation could indeed adopt open methods and let the community decide. "If community members believe that is the best approach and propose such a suggestion, that would be acceptable." At the same time, she noted that the process involves not only the community but also the foundation’s internal organizational management. They needed someone with global work experience and long-term expertise in crypto, and she was told they believed she met those criteria. "So while the process wasn’t public, I think having the community decide is also a good idea."
Recently, in an unofficial on-chain vote involving Ethereum community members, former Ethereum Foundation core researcher Danny Ryan received 99.98% absolute support and was elected as the next foundation leader. Consensys CEO and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin also suggested that Danny Ryan and ETH France President Jerome de Tychey jointly lead the EF to enhance technical focus and vitality.
Danny Ryan was a core researcher at the Ethereum Foundation and played a key role in critical upgrades such as Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and The Merge. Earlier this year, when Miyaguchi was at the center of controversy, Ryan spoke out calling for an end to the "mob-style criticism" against her. Ryan stated that regardless of whatever role he might take in Ethereum’s future, he deeply respects and acknowledges Miyaguchi’s leadership, praising her strategic vision and pure intentions. "There are many reasons why Ethereum has thrived over the years, and Aya has played an important part. My success in Ethereum has always depended on her support and guidance," Ryan remarked on Twitter.
Vitalik Buterin also defended Aya Miyaguchi against accusations, pointing out translation inaccuracies in cited materials and condemning some violent attacks against her as "pure malice." Vitalik also clearly stated on Twitter that the decision-making power regarding the new EF leadership currently rests solely with him. Ongoing reforms aim to establish a formal board for the foundation, but until then, final authority remains with him personally.
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