Former Ethereum Foundation Official Warns of Funding Gap as Foundation Shrinks Role
Summary
- Former Ethereum Foundation official Trent Van Epps said the foundation’s reduced role could create a structural gap in funding for core protocol development.
- He said foundation funding for core protocol development, which requires about $30 million a year, continues to decline, raising the question of who will provide sustained support for development that serves as a public good for network stability and security.
- He added that Ethereum governance will evolve into a more distributed structure over the next decade, but Ethereum still maintains a leading position and strong network effects in DeFi, stablecoin payments and the EVM ecosystem.
Trent Van Epps, a former Ethereum Foundation official who oversaw funding for core development, warned that the foundation’s reduced role could create a structural gap in financing for key protocol work.
Van Epps told CoinDesk on June 26 that Ethereum’s long-term decentralization strategy is reaching a critical turning point. The Ethereum Foundation is intentionally scaling back its central role rather than expanding its authority, he said, making it necessary to quickly establish new funding institutions.
Core protocol development requires about $30 million a year, but foundation funding continues to decline, he said. The issue is not technical demand, but who will consistently support development that serves as a public good for network stability and security.
Over the next decade, Ethereum governance will move toward a more decentralized structure, Van Epps said. He expects the foundation to play only a limited role, with new institutions emerging to handle research, commercialization and ecosystem expansion.
He added that Ethereum remains in a leading position in DeFi, stablecoin payments and the EVM ecosystem. Those network effects will be difficult for rivals to match.
