How Ethereum Grows Without a Center | Aya Miyaguchi and Tomo Saito at Pragma Tokyo 2026

Ethereum Foundation leaders Aya Miyaguchi and Tomo Saito discuss how Ethereum can grow without a central authority while preserving its values. Miyaguchi explains why the Foundation published its mandate after a decade: the ecosystem had become too large to rely on implicit culture, and builders needed a clear explanation of the principles behind technical choices. The mandate centers censorship resistance, open source development, privacy, and security, providing a shared standard for Foundation teams and independent organizations. The conversation explores the Foundation’s role as a steward, the Japanese community’s translation of the mandate, and opportunities for builders. Privacy-preserving compliance, less concentrated stablecoins, and Ethereum infrastructure for trustworthy AI remain open design problems. Miyaguchi argues that Ethereum’s values are practical properties that affect daily life, not abstract philosophy. Builders can express those values through security, privacy, user experience, and tools that give people alternatives to surrendering control. 00:00 Introduction to Ethereum Foundation Mandate 01:01 Why Publish a Mandate After Ten Years 01:37 Making Ethereum’s Values Explicit 02:34 Why Ethereum Accepts Technical Tradeoffs 03:24 Ethereum’s Promise in a Changing World 04:08 Protecting the Culture That Defines Ethereum 05:15 Six Months of Mandate Impact 06:48 The Japanese Community Translation 09:18 New Organizations and Infinite Garden Growth 10:41 The Foundation as a Steward 12:14 Opportunities for Builders and Institutions 13:20 Privacy, Compliance, and Stablecoins 14:40 How Ethereum Can Support Trustworthy AI 16:22 Explaining Ethereum Values to New Audiences 17:33 Young Builders Enter the Ecosystem 19:59 Devcon Mumbai and Closing Remarks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 🇯🇵 *Pragma Tokyo 2026* Pragma Tokyo 2026 was held on September 25th at the Toranomon Hills Forum in Tokyo, Japan and was an in-person summit for builders and leaders in the web3 ecosystem. Watch the full Pragma Tokyo 2026 YouTube Playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT7ZDw43Z98U ETHGlobal's Pragma series takes place in cities around the world, and is designed to be a different kind of event. Pragma is a one-stage conference with founders-only on stage, bringing together a small group of curated attendees and speakers to discuss the future of web3 and reflect on the past. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ✅ Follow Aya Miyaguchi X: https://x.com/AyaMiyagotchi ✅ Follow Tomo Saito X: https://x.com/tomosaito ✅ Follow the Ethereum Foundation X: https://x.com/ethereumfndn ✅ Follow ETHGlobal X: https://x.com/ETHGlobal​ Warpcast: https://warpcast.com/ethglobal Website: https://ethglobal.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfF9ZO8Ug4xk_AJd4aeT5HA _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Are you interested in Ethereum development and entrepreneurship? 👉 Sign up for the next ETHGlobal event: https://ethglobal.com/events 🎁 Get exclusive access and perks with ETHGlobal Plus! https://ethglobal.com/plus 📣 Want us to throw an event in your city? Tell us where! https://ethglobal.com/city