Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, said the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is moving toward a smaller, more focused role within the broader ETH ecosystem.
Amid growing concerns around EF, Buterin stated that the organization is “not a center of Ethereum” but rather “one node, with a defined purpose, alongside other nodes.”
Smaller Ship
In his latest X post, Buterin said the board is expanding and that his own influence within the organization will continue to decrease, which he described as something he wants.
He noted that the foundation’s President Aya Miyaguchi has been carrying out much of the transition work, while his own involvement has mainly focused on technical matters. According to Buterin, the EF improved its operational efficiency and execution capabilities during 2025. However, he said he became increasingly concerned by criticism from people who questioned whether the EF’s actions truly reflected Ethereum’s stated values around decentralization, privacy, and acting as a “sanctuary technology.”
According to Buterin, EF should not become a central authority, noting that the foundation controls only around 0.16% of the total ETH supply, compared to some competing blockchain foundations that reportedly control between 10% and 50% of their networks’ tokens. He also said the EF was originally created to complete a limited set of objectives tied to ETH’s early development phases, including Frontier, Homestead, Metropolis, and Serenity, which were completed in 2022.
Buterin said the EF is now prioritizing longevity over expansion and focusing only on activities that are critical to Ethereum functioning as a censorship-resistant, open, private, and secure system. He went on to explain that this approach requires difficult decisions, including allowing respected contributors and important initiatives to exist outside the foundation to attract outside capital.
He said Ethereum should avoid competing solely on speed and scalability metrics, adding that pursuing that path would lead to “mediocrity.” Instead, he said Ethereum should focus on goals such as creating a provably bug-free Ethereum through AI-assisted formal verification, improving consensus design, and reducing reliance on intermediaries in transaction inclusion.
Buterin also said Ethereum’s long-term technical goals remain compatible with scaling improvements and high throughput through Layer 2 networks and other optimizations.
“EF will be a smaller ship than in previous years, a more opinionated one – in some cases more opinionated in ways that might be difficult to comprehend – but a longer-lasting one, and one suited to making sure that Ethereum brings something meaningful to the world.”
High-Profile Exits
EF has faced growing scrutiny in recent months following a series of high-profile departures, including Tomasz Stańczak, Tim Beiko, Josh Stark, and Barnabé Monnot. Community discussions intensified as multiple exits occurred in a short period, prompting speculation about internal instability and disagreements over the Foundation’s evolving direction.
ETH investor Ryan Berckmans asserted that the departures were mainly tied to differing strategic approaches, leadership transitions, and organizational restructuring rather than declining confidence in Ethereum itself.
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