A former Ethereum Foundation insider says the network must quickly establish new funding structures as the Foundation scales back its role.
Trent Van Epps described Ethereum as entering a crucial phase in its decentralization journey. He said he chose to leave the Foundation once it became clear the organization would intensify its strategy of reducing its influence and pushing responsibility into the wider ecosystem.
Rather than centralizing control, the Foundation is deliberately stepping back to allow independent groups to take on greater roles in maintaining and advancing the network. His remarks follow recent leadership changes and layoffs that have sparked renewed debate around Ethereum’s governance.
Van Epps framed the issue as a funding challenge, not a fundamental threat. He estimated that core protocol development costs around $30 million annually, even as the Foundation’s financial reserves gradually decline.
The key concern, he said, is identifying new institutions willing to support the public goods that underpin Ethereum’s security and reliability. While his Protocol Guild initiative has distributed close to $40 million to core developers over the past four years, he noted it cannot fully replace ecosystem-wide funding.
Despite these concerns, Van Epps remains positive on Ethereum’s long-term prospects. He highlighted its dominance in decentralized finance, stablecoin activity, and EVM adoption, saying these advantages are difficult for rivals to match.
He also pointed to the “free rider” problem as a major hurdle, where companies benefit from shared infrastructure without contributing to its maintenance.
Looking ahead, Van Epps expects governance to become more distributed over time, with the Ethereum Foundation playing a narrower role alongside new organizations focused on research, commercialization, and ecosystem growth.
He added that Ethereum needs stronger positioning for ETH as an asset and a clearer narrative connecting it to the expanding on-chain economy.
In the long run, he said success will be defined by adoption, with billions of users eventually interacting with Ethereum and its Layer 2 networks.
