Foreign media report that discussions around governance, funding, and support for core development have intensified following a series of recent departures from the Ethereum Foundation. Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder of Zcash and co-founder of StarkWare, publicly stated that he neither wishes to join those criticizing Ethereum nor intends to endorse the current status quo.
Recent personnel changes continue to unfold.
The report states that at least eight senior personnel have left the Ethereum Foundation over the past five months. The latest development is the departure of Co-Executive Director and Board Member Hsiao-Wei Wang. This series of changes comes as Ethereum faces intensifying competition from other public blockchains.
Beyond personnel issues, development funding has also become a point of external concern. Former Ethereum Foundation contributor Trent Van Epps previously stated that as the foundation reduces spending and the Client Incentives Program (CIP) expires, Ethereum core development could face a “slow-burning” funding crunch within the next 3 to 9 months.
Ben-Sasson said Ethereum has both advantages and political factors.
Ben-Sasson stated on social media that his comments were not intended to criticize the Ethereum Foundation or to claim that Ethereum has reached its end. He also emphasized that he does not claim everything is going smoothly.
He believes Ethereum has many advantages, but there are also political factors within its ecosystem. As a long-term participant, he hopes discussions can return to technology and development itself, rather than simply taking sides.
Using the STARK pathway as an example, discuss the technical orientation.
Ben-Sasson also recalled that StarkWare developed a post-quantum ZK-STARK system between 2019 and 2020, aiming to help Ethereum scale and enhance its readiness for the quantum era.
He said that choosing the STARK and zkVM path was not popular at the time and was even seen as diverging from the mainstream direction. However, he stated that he is still glad he made those decisions.
Ben-Sasson concluded by expressing hope that the new system emerging in the future will place greater emphasis on capabilities and technical achievements rather than "consistency." While this statement did not directly evaluate the foundation’s next steps, it reflects ongoing discussions within the Ethereum ecosystem regarding governance and resource allocation.