Former Ethereum Foundation leader warns of funding gap as governance shifts

Former Ethereum Foundation leader warns of funding gap as governance shifts

Markets

Former Ethereum Foundation leader warns of funding gap as governance shifts

A former Ethereum Foundation member says the network must quickly build new funding institutions as the Foundation steps back.

By

AI Boost

|

Edited by

Jennifer Sanasie

Jun 26, 2026, 6:37 p.m.

2

min read

Make

preferred on

Share

Share this article

Copy link

X icon

X (Twitter)

LinkedIn

Facebook

Email

Make

preferred on

Latest developments:

Trent Van Epps says Ethereum's long-term decentralization strategy is entering a critical transition phase.

Van Epps said he left the Ethereum Foundation after it became clear the organization would accelerate its "subtraction" philosophy of pushing authority and legitimacy into the broader ecosystem.

He described the Ethereum Foundation as intentionally reducing its central role rather than consolidating power, arguing that multiple independent institutions should eventually coordinate the ecosystem.

The comments come after recent Ethereum Foundation leadership changes and workforce reductions, which have fueled questions about Ethereum's future governance.

Van Epps joined CoinDesk's Jennifer Sanasie on Markets Outlook.

What this means:

Van Epps argues Ethereum faces a practical funding challenge rather than an existential crisis.

He estimated core protocol development requires roughly $30 million annually, even as the Ethereum Foundation's treasury gradually declines over time.

According to Van Epps, the issue is not shrinking technical needs but identifying new organizations willing to finance public goods that keep the network reliable and secure.

He said his Protocol Guild initiative has distributed nearly $40 million to Ethereum core developers over roughly four years but is not sufficient on its own to replace broader ecosystem funding.

Reading between the lines:

Van Epps remains bullish on Ethereum despite the funding concerns.

He argued Ethereum continues to lead in decentralized finance, stablecoin settlement and EVM adoption, saying those network effects remain difficult for competitors to match.

While acknowledging near-term coordination challenges, he said he is optimistic new institutions and major stakeholders will emerge to help finance Ethereum's shared infrastructure.

He also pointed to the "free rider" problem, where firms benefit from shared infrastructure without contributing to its maintenance, as a key obstacle to solving the funding gap.

What comes next:

Van Epps believes Ethereum's governance will become more distributed over the next decade.

He expects the Ethereum Foundation to continue operating in a narrower role alongside newer organizations focused on research, commercialization and ecosystem growth.

He argued Ethereum also needs stronger advocacy around ETH as an asset and a clearer narrative connecting the token to the network's expanding on-chain economy.

Long term, Van Epps said success should be measured by broad adoption, with billions of users ultimately accessing Ethereum and its Layer 2 ecosystem.

AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to

our standards

.

For more information, see

CoinDesk's full AI Policy

.

Latest Crypto News

1

U.S. House Democrat, who may soon run key committee, condemns crypto in 401(k)s

9 minutes ago

2

Anti-trafficking group says Clarity Act's Section 604 could weaken accountability

1 hour ago

3

Virtuals' Jansen Teng says AI agents are evolving into autonomous economic actors

1 hour ago

4

Securitize expects to raise $400 million as tokenization firm nears public debut

4 hours ago

5

CoinDesk 20 performance update: AAVE jumps 8.9%, leading index higher

6 hours ago

6

Wall Street's IPO revival hasn't reached dot-com euphoria levels, Goldman Sachs says

7 hours ago

7

With crypto ending the first half in the red, bitcoin's solace is it beat Strategy

8 hours ago

8

Bitcoin bounces from $58,000 as derivatives signal more pain in the pipeline

8 hours ago

9

All eyes on Strategy's June 30 ex-dividend date and monthly STRC dividend rate reset

9 hours ago

10

Binance tells EU users it will no longer provide services after failing to secure MiCA license

9 hours ago

Latest Research

Equities on Crypto Rails: A Platform Comparison

Equities on Crypto Rails: A Platform Comparison

US equities on crypto rails: access is easy, on-chain composability is the real test. Only Binance and Backpack deliver both - and only Binance at scale.

By

CoinDesk Research

10 hours ago

US equities on crypto rails: access is easy, on-chain composability is the real test. Only Binance and Backpack deliver both - and only Binance at scale.

Why it matters

:

US equities on crypto rails: access is easy, on-chain composability is the real test. Only Binance and Backpack deliver both - and only Binance at scale.

View Full Report

More From

Markets

Bitcoin bounces from $58,000 as derivatives signal more pain in the pipeline

All eyes on Strategy's June 30 ex-dividend date and monthly STRC dividend rate reset

Ethereum treasury firm Sharplink buys ether for the first time in eight months

CD20

$1,629.10

CD20 up 2.50 percent

2.50%

BTC

$59,834.11

BTC up 1.02 percent

1.02%

ETH

$1,575.99

ETH up 1.20 percent

1.20%

XRP

$1.05

XRP up 1.37 percent

1.37%

SOL

$73.62

SOL up 11.40 percent

11.40%