Justin Drake, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, has disclosed his advisory role at Eigen Foundation, along with the allocation of Eigen tokens corresponding to this role.

This disclosure comes amidst discussions about potential conflicts of interest between EigenLayer and Drake's employer, the Ethereum Foundation, due to core developers and researchers at the organization taking advisory roles.

The revelation began with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin expressing pride in Ethereum's culture, which encourages individuals to freely express their opinions, including negative ones regarding the protocol or its ecosystem.

In response, crypto trader Jordan Fish (Cobie) questioned Buterin about the incentives received by Ethereum Foundation core developers or researchers when they take advisory roles in projects built on Ethereum.

The next morning, Drake disclosed his recent advisory role at Eigen Foundation, acknowledging the community's right to transparency. He stated that the advisory position includes a significant allocation of EIGEN tokens, potentially valued in the millions of dollars, vested over three years.

Drake pledged to reinvest all proceeds from this role into "worthy" projects in the Ethereum ecosystem, either as investments or donations. He assured that he would end the advisory role if he perceived EigenLayer to be acting against Ethereum's interests.

EigenLayer is a platform facilitating the deposit and "re-staking" of ether from various liquid staking tokens to secure third-party networks or services.

Drake emphasized that he took the advisory role seriously, having declined over 100 similar roles and being in discussions with EigenFoundation for over a year. He clarified that his mandate was limited to researching restaking risks and that he would not be involved in any marketing activities for EigenLayer. He also stated that his default public stance would remain critical of EigenLayer.

Addressing concerns about compromising the Ethereum Foundation's integrity, Drake highlighted that the organization is comprised of over 300 individuals, with only three having formal relationships with EigenLayer — one as an investor and two as advisors. Their identities were not disclosed.

Drake sees his advisory role as an opportunity to closely monitor restaking issues and guide EigenLayer in a direction aligned with Ethereum's interests, aiming to avoid repeating past mistakes related to liquid staking.

This disclosure underscores the importance of transparency and ethical conduct in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, particularly concerning potential conflicts of interest.