The Change of Scenery

They say that a change of scenery is beneficial because it resets the brain and provides a new perspective. New surroundings introduce fresh sights, new ideas.

I decided to take that advice and stepped away for a few days to spend time off with my family. We chose a place where we could be together with minimal distractions, and we succeeded, perhaps more than expected. Internet access was intermittent, almost unreliable. Not by choice, but by circumstance, our devices went silent, and we enjoyed the food and fun activities. We were data-deprived, but time-rich.

Those five days were refreshing.

Without constant notifications, we talked more. We listened better. We opened up with outstanding problems. But this time, with less distracted conversation, we were able to reach what we want to do next!

For me, this opportunity created space to reflect on what I have been doing for the past five years and how I want to spend my next 5 to 10 years. I realized that I have spent much of my time talking to people, coordinating ideas, and translating complexity into nooby’s friendly concept. Perhaps being with the same ecosystem and supporting the project I admire the most at the moment will make more sense. So I decided to begin sharing my thoughts as short stories.

I am blessed that I already have a medium to share these reflections with people I care about, through EtherWorld.

So I decided to begin sharing my thoughts as short stories.

This is the first one.

In 2016, when I learned about Ethereum for the first time. I found it interesting and wanted to share it with more people in the world to perhaps support creating a world where people understand this technology and are willing to join and contribute in any possible way. Perhaps I imagined a community where we help build and coexist - An EtherWorld!

In early 2019, Ethereum was 8 upgrades old. It was growing, and so was its community. Developers from around the world were contributing in their free time, experimenting, learning, and pushing boundaries. There were minds full of ideas to help transition Ethereum from pilot to innovation. The energy was real.

But there was a missing piece: how to contribute?

Ethereum, like any large software system, evolves through improvement proposals - Ethereum Improvement Proposals, or EIPs. These proposals serve as the guardrails for change. Some are selected for implementation and become part of network upgrades, carrying with them the contributions of hundreds of participants of open source technology.

To help bridge the gap between aspiring contributors and the upgrade process, Ethereum Cat Herders (now ECH Institute) came into existence. The group focused on explaining and streamlining how EIPs move from idea to implementation - working with client teams, gathering feedback, and creating clarity so decisions could be made with confidence, and Ethereum keeps maturing with upgrades.

I joined Ethereum Cat Herders in 2019.

My focus was network upgrade coordination, everything from naming upgrades and coordinating EIP selection to public testing and mainnet deployment. From ProgPoW to EIP-1559. From Istanbul to London. I often thought of the work as a handshake: one side reaching from aspiring developers, the other from the protocol itself.

Alongside my focus was on accessibility of information targeted for the developers, along with process improvement involving the contributors of this decentralized ecosystem, with the PEEPanEIP podcast alongside EIPIP. The outcome was remarkable; now the documentation and selection of EIP process was transparent. The podcast was building resources with information about the EIP getting included in the upgrade.

Years passed.

Ethereum in mid-2022 is now 15 upgrades old and joined by many developers. The protocol is ready to transition to the next phase of the lifecycle and take the leap of faith to switch to proof of stake with The Merge. This big shift brought a change in the view of the protocol. Running on a layered architecture now, Ethereum has upgraded from good to better technology. More scalable. More sustainable. Yet, enterprises remain cautious. Curious, yes. Willing to experiment, perhaps. But hesitant to commit.

The wheel of time keeps moving.

With the release of the Fusaka upgrade in December 2025, Ethereum has positioned itself as one of the most stable platforms for building at scale, offering security, scalability, and a wide-open landscape for innovation.

The opportunity is there. Still, challenges remain. And this is where my reflection landed:

Ethereum’s remaining adoption gap is institutional, not technical.

The technology works. The issue lies in the trust, the understanding of governance, and standards.

The narrative needs to be changed to position Ethereum differently.

Ethereum is often explained as an innovation, a developer’s project. This framing discourages many users from even considering it in their daily life, as they assume it will be too complex to use without a technical background.

I would like to reframe that narrative.

Ethereum is not innovation, but a neutral digital infrastructure.

For Ethereum to go mainstream, it needs to be boring enough for enterprises to trust it and familiar enough for people to use it as an essential part of their daily routine.

That starts with ensuring accurate public understanding of Ethereum’s role in a common person’s life.

Ethereum does not need to “win enterprises over,” but “enterprise needs to embrace Ethereum” for a better future.

What it needs is less hype and more continuity and confidence in the roadmap, clarity around upgrades, governance, and standards.

Ethereum is no longer a developer-only project!

It feels like the ecosystem, and perhaps I myself need a change of scenery.