• A former EF employee warned of a risk of a funding crisis for the Ethereum ecosystem.
• According to him, within 3-9 months protocol development may face a shortage of stable funding.
• He also called for the creation of new mechanisms for governing and funding Ethereum.

Former Ethereum Foundation (EF) employee Trent Van Epps stated that the Ethereum ecosystem is approaching a potential funding crisis that could jeopardize the protocol's further development.

Van Epps worked at the Ethereum Foundation from May 2021 to April 2026. During that time he coordinated protocol development, handled funding through Protocol Guild, and studied the political economy of Ethereum.

In his view, the current Ethereum Foundation development model, which the organization calls Subtraction, successfully demonstrates the foundation's unwillingness to concentrate power, but does not solve the question of the long-term distribution of responsibility within the ecosystem.

The author noted that despite striving to reduce its own influence, the Ethereum Foundation still remains a key institution thanks to community trust, its connection with Vitalik Buterin, control over the main brand assets, developer funding, and a significant historical role in the protocol's development.

Risk of a funding shortfall

Van Epps paid separate attention to the ecosystem's financial situation.

According to him, the Ethereum Foundation has been cutting expenses for several years in line with a new treasury management plan, and in April 2026 the four-year Client Incentive Program (CIP), which funded client development teams through a staking mechanism, came to an end.

At the same time, a new support program has not yet been announced. In the author's opinion, this creates a risk of a gradual funding deficit within the next 3-9 months.

He noted that to support development teams, researchers, and coordination work, the ecosystem needs about $30 million per year from stable funding sources.

According to him, without this Ethereum may lose specialists with many years of experience, which would negatively affect the development of the network, work on scaling, security, and preparation for new challenges, in particular quantum computing.

New governance

Van Epps also drew attention to a statement by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin that the Ethereum Foundation is not intended to be the network's "eternal steward."

In his view, the ecosystem should prepare for the emergence of new institutions that will gradually take over part of the foundation's functions.

Among the key directions, he named the creation of scalable and neutral funding mechanisms, the development of new models for managing Ethereum's shared resources, and increased attention to global adoption of the network.

In conclusion, Van Epps urged the ecosystem not to delay reforms, noting that without a timely resolution of these issues Ethereum risks losing the institutional capacity it has accumulated over the years.

Buterin announced a reduction in the role of the Ethereum Foundation and a shift in EF's priorities. What will change? 25.05.2026 Read

Source: Incrypted