Ethereum developers proposed EIP-8363, a mechanism that would burn validator issuance and reduce net staking rewards to zero once 50-60% of ETH supply is staked. The proposal faced immediate opposition from industry figures including SharpLink CEO Joseph Chalom and was pulled from the Hegotá upgrade on August 6.
Six Ethereum researchers, including Ethereum Foundation's Justin Drake, have submitted EIP-8361 proposing to progressively burn validator rewards as staked ETH increases, potentially reducing issuance to zero when staking reaches approximately 60% of supply. The proposal has sparked debate within the community, with Ether.fi responding by removing restaking from its weETH token.
Six Ethereum researchers including Ethereum Foundation's Justin Drake have proposed EIP-8363, a 'Tapered Issuance Burn' mechanism that would progressively reduce validator rewards and burn consensus rewards as staked ETH increases, potentially cutting issuance to zero if staking reaches 50% of supply. The proposal has sparked backlash from critics who warn it could disadvantage solo stakers and impact DeFi activity.
The Ethereum Foundation appointed Pascal Caversaccio (pcaversaccio), co-founder of crypto security response group SEAL 911, to its board on a one-year voluntary term. The appointment follows significant leadership changes at the foundation.
The Ethereum Foundation has returned to the center of controversy in the crypto community, facing questions about its governance practices and stewardship of the Ethereum blockchain amid growing concerns from token holders about the network's direction despite technical progress.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin responded to community criticism by announcing the Ethereum Foundation will become a 'smaller ship' focused on CROPS (core research), sell less ETH, and expand its board to reduce his personal influence. The announcement comes amid an exodus of top researchers from the foundation.
The Ethereum Foundation has lost at least eight to nine senior researchers and core figures in 2026, including Pablo Voorvaart, Carl Beek, and Julian Ma, triggering community concern about an identity crisis for the blockchain.
Josh Stark, a key Ethereum researcher, is stepping down from the Ethereum Foundation. This marks the most high-profile exit from the organization since its restructuring in Q1 2025, amid ongoing changes including renewed focus on scaling and mainnet development.
After the Ethereum community rallied behind Danny Ryan in an on-chain vote representing over $159 million in ETH, Ryan and the Ethereum Foundation mutually parted ways in January 2025 without a leadership arrangement. Rather than returning to the organization he helped build for seven years, including leading The Merge, Ryan co-founded Etherealize in March 2025 alongside former Citadel executive Vivek Raman, focusing on bringing Ethereum to Wall Street.
The Ethereum Foundation faced sustained community criticism throughout 2024 and into early 2025 for regularly selling ETH to cover its approximately $100 million in annual operating expenses, averaging a sale every 11 days in 2024. Each transaction sparked accusations of market manipulation and misalignment with Ethereum's values, fueling broader calls for governance reform and serving as a key catalyst for the leadership crisis that followed.
