The Ethereum Foundation is facing a governance crisis following eight high-profile departures since January 2026. Critics accuse the non-profit of being "out of touch" and wasteful, sparking a debate over its role in an ecosystem securing trillions. The turmoil has fueled a broader identity crisis for Ethereum, with some arguing the network doesn't capture value for its token, while co-founder Vitalik Buterin defends the EF's new, narrower research focus as a deliberate strategy for longevity.
Ethereum Foundation staff departures
- ▪Eight high-profile contributors have departed the Ethereum Foundation since January 2026
- ▪The departures have fueled speculation about whether the Ethereum Foundation is entering a period of decline
EF governance criticism
- ▪Former EF researcher Dankrad Feist argued the foundation has no direct economic stake in Ethereum’s market performance, controlling less than 0.1% of all ETH
- ▪Critics have accused the Ethereum Foundation of being insular, slow-moving, and disconnected from the blockchain industry's realities
- ▪Chris Boulos of Dromos Labs said the critique that the Ethereum Foundation's direction has been "unclear and wasteful" is fair
- ▪Longtime Ethereum contributor Zak Cole stated the Ethereum Foundation is "completely out of touch" and funds projects irrelevant to the community
- ▪Dankrad Feist proposed creating a separate, $1 billion ETH-aligned organization to improve execution and value capture
Foundation decentralization tensions
- ▪Over time, the Ethereum Foundation has attempted to step back from its central role to allow other ecosystem organizations to rise
- ▪The Ethereum network secures trillions of dollars in assets across its ecosystem, including decentralized finance and stablecoins
- ▪Founded in 2014, the Switzerland-based Ethereum Foundation originally served as the network's central organizing body
- ▪The Ethereum Foundation's March 13, 2026 "Mandate" publication reframed it as a steward rather than Ethereum's "parent, ruler, or final authority."
- ▪The current conflict highlights a tension over whether the Ethereum Foundation should be a research non-profit or a more execution-oriented institution
Competing visions for Ethereum
- ▪David Hoffman, co-founder of Bankless, sold his ETH, arguing the network is designed to provide value to applications, not directly to ETH holders
- ▪SharpLink, described as the largest Ethereum treasury company, has staked billions in ETH and announced a $125 million DeFi yield fund
- ▪Hoffman notes that stablecoins on Ethereum grew from $3 billion in 2020 to $163 billion, with most value denominated in dollars, not ETH
Buterin CROPS focus defense
- ▪Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated the Ethereum Foundation is not the "center of Ethereum" but "one node, with a defined purpose, alongside other nodes."
- ▪Buterin stated that the Ethereum Foundation is choosing to use its resources to pursue "longevity over breadth."
- ▪Vitalik Buterin stated that nearly 90% of his personal net worth remains in ETH
Foundation restructuring toward research
- ▪The Ethereum Foundation is seen as valuable for its role as a "credibly neutral convener" for competing teams to align on best practices
- ▪The Ethereum Foundation's new protocol team leadership is tasked with raising the gas limit to 200 million and advancing zkEVM security
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