Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Vitalik Buterin addressed the recent wave of departures and criticism around the Ethereum Foundation.
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Buterin highlighted that the Ethereum Foundation is choosing “longevity over breadth,” selling less ETH and focusing exclusively on Ethereum’s “CROPS” properties of censorship/capture resistance, open source, privacy, and security.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has published a detailed post on X addressing ongoing internal changes at the Ethereum Foundation, defending its restructuring and laying out what he described as Ethereum’s next major technical and organizational phase.
Some of my perspective on where the @ethereumfndn is going.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) May 24, 2026
First of all, this is only my own view. The board is not just me, and I have no extra special powers on the board that the other board members do not. @aerugoettinea is the one executing much of this transition. My…
Buterin emphasized that his comments reflected personal views rather than an official foundation position, noting that interim co-executive director Bastian Aue is currently leading the restructuring process. He also stressed that his own influence over the organization is intentionally diminishing, saying that was his preferred outcome as Ethereum matures.
The post comes amid heightened internal turbulence at the Ethereum Foundation, including a series of senior departures and leadership transitions. At least eight senior contributors are expected to leave or have already left in 2026, with several exits occurring in May alone. Former co-executive director Tomasz Stanczak stepped down earlier in the year, while Protocol Cluster co-lead Alex Stokes is currently on sabbatical.
Separately, former EF researcher Dankrad Feist has proposed creating a $1 billion Ethereum advocacy organization aimed at better aligning with ETH as an asset, adding further momentum to discussions about Ethereum’s governance and institutional structure.
“One Node Among Many”: Buterin Reframes EF’s Role
Buterin acknowledged growing criticism from parts of the Ethereum community, particularly concerns that the foundation’s actions have not fully aligned with Ethereum’s stated values of decentralization, privacy, and censorship resistance.
He framed the Ethereum Foundation not as Ethereum’s central authority, but as “one node among many,” arguing that the network is fundamentally broader than any single organization. He also highlighted that the foundation holds only a small share of total ETH supply, reinforcing his argument that it should not be viewed as dominant within the ecosystem.
Buterin said the foundation’s original mandate—set out before Ethereum’s launch—was largely completed in 2022, and that its current focus is shifting toward long-term resilience rather than broad expansion.
He also pointed to Ethereum’s early funding structure, noting that the foundation’s endowment was built from roughly 6 million ETH allocated during the 2014 crowdsale, representing about 10% of funds sold at the time.
Narrower Focus: Longevity Over Expansion
According to Buterin, the Ethereum Foundation is now prioritizing “longevity over breadth,” focusing only on efforts that are critical to Ethereum’s survival and unlikely to be funded elsewhere.
That shift, he acknowledged, will likely mean some respected contributors and initiatives will operate outside the foundation. However, he argued this is necessary for healthy ecosystem funding and decentralization.
“The EF is choosing to use its remaining resources to pursue longevity over breadth,” he wrote, adding that outside capital and independent organizations will need to take on more responsibility for ecosystem development.
The framing aligns with the foundation’s earlier governance shift outlined in its March mandate, which described the EF as “one of many stewards” of Ethereum rather than its central governing body.
Three Technical Priorities for Ethereum’s Next Phase
Buterin also outlined three major technical directions he believes should define Ethereum’s future:
First is “provably bug-free Ethereum,” driven by advances in AI-assisted formal verification, which he suggested is becoming more realistic than previously thought.
Second is “available chain consensus,” a model he says Ethereum already leads in, combining traditional Byzantine fault tolerance under network instability with Bitcoin-style resilience against large-scale attacks.
Third is reducing reliance on intermediaries, referencing ongoing development efforts such as FOCIL, EIP-8141, EIP-7701, and the Kohaku wallet framework.
He also rejected the idea that Ethereum should prioritize speed above all else, arguing that excessive focus on scalability at the expense of decentralization would ultimately weaken the network’s long-term competitiveness.
ETH and Ethereum’s Future Structure
Buterin described ETH as Ethereum’s most important economic output, while noting that supporting its long-term value may require initiatives outside the Ethereum Foundation itself.
He suggested that other independent groups—some potentially larger ETH holders than the EF—will need to contribute to ecosystem development and advocacy moving forward.
ETH was trading near $2,100 at the time of publication, up modestly over the past 24 hours.
Buterin concluded by describing the Ethereum Foundation’s future as more focused but also more selective in its priorities.
He said the organization will become “a smaller ship than in previous years,” but one designed for greater longevity and clearer strategic direction as Ethereum continues to evolve.
