Dankrad Feist, a prominent researcher at the Ethereum Foundation and co-creator of the Danksharding design, announced his departure on October 17, 2025, to join Tempo, a Layer-1 blockchain backed by Stripe and Paradigm. Feist, who joined the Ethereum Foundation in 2018, has been instrumental in scaling initiatives like PeerDAS and the upcoming Fusaka upgrade.
In his statement, Feist emphasized that his move is driven by a focus on crypto payments, noting that "payments used to be at the center of the crypto ecosystem." He described Tempo as an EVM-compatible blockchain optimized for large-scale financial applications, aiming to serve companies like OpenAI, Revolut, and Deutsche Bank. Feist will remain involved with the Ethereum Foundation as a research advisor, focusing on L1 scaling, blobs, and UX through the Protocol Cluster.
The community reaction has been mixed, with Ryan Sean Adams of Bankless suggesting Tempo is attracting "Ethereum veterans who feel somewhat disenchanted." Vitalik Buterin acknowledged Feist as an "exceptional researcher" and wished him success. Feist clarified that Ethereum and Tempo share "the same ideals of open permission" and could complement each other, not compete.
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