Ex-Ethereum Foundation Insider Raises Alarm Over Funding Void Amid Governance Overhaul
A former key figure at the Ethereum Foundation is sounding the alarm over what he describes as a critical funding gap emerging as the organization deliberately pulls back from its central role in the ecosystem. Trent Van Epps, who recently departed from the Foundation, says Ethereum is now entering one of the most consequential transition phases in its history — and the clock is ticking.
Van Epps explained that his decision to leave the Ethereum Foundation was directly tied to its accelerating embrace of a so-called "subtraction" philosophy. Rather than consolidating authority, the Foundation is intentionally diminishing its own central influence and pushing legitimacy outward into the broader ecosystem. The goal, as Van Epps sees it, is to eventually have multiple independent institutions coordinating the network rather than a single dominant organization. These remarks come on the heels of notable leadership reshuffles and staff cuts at the Ethereum Foundation, which have sparked widespread debate about who will steer Ethereum's future.
The funding challenge Van Epps outlines is concrete and pressing. He estimates that maintaining core protocol development costs approximately $30 million per year. Meanwhile, the Foundation's treasury is on a gradual decline. The problem, he stresses, is not that technical requirements are shrinking — they are not. The real obstacle is identifying new organizations willing to step up and finance the public goods that keep Ethereum secure, reliable, and competitive.
Van Epps pointed to his own Protocol Guild initiative as a partial solution. Over roughly four years, Protocol Guild has distributed nearly $40 million to Ethereum core developers. However, he was candid that this alone cannot replace the broader ecosystem funding that is needed going forward. The "free rider" problem looms large here: many companies and projects profit from Ethereum's shared infrastructure without contributing to its upkeep, creating a structural imbalance that must be addressed.
Despite these concerns, Van Epps remains firmly bullish on Ethereum's long-term prospects. He argued that Ethereum continues to hold commanding positions in decentralized finance, stablecoin settlement, and EVM adoption — advantages that competitors will find extremely difficult to erode. He expressed confidence that new institutions and major stakeholders will eventually step in to co-finance the network's shared infrastructure, though he acknowledged that near-term coordination will be challenging.
Looking ahead, Van Epps envisions a more distributed governance landscape for Ethereum over the next decade. He expects the Foundation to continue operating, but in a narrower, more focused capacity, alongside a new generation of organizations dedicated to research, commercialization, and ecosystem expansion. He also called for stronger advocacy around ETH as an asset class and a more compelling narrative linking the token to Ethereum's growing on-chain economy.
Ultimately, Van Epps measures success in terms of mass adoption. His long-term vision is one where billions of users access Ethereum and its Layer 2 ecosystem — a future he believes is achievable, provided the community moves decisively to solve the funding and governance challenges now taking shape.
