News linked to both this project and an event.
During the 11th year of Ethereum, the Ethereum Foundation underwent organizational restructuring, including leadership departures, layoffs, the introduction of a new CROPS mandate, and the spin-off of EthLabs, Ethereum Systems, and Ethereum Institutional as independent entities. The Ethereum Foundation seeks to further decentralize its role within the ecosystem. Concurrently, Ethereum continued to advance its technology and institutional adoption, launching the Fusaka upgrade and attracting participation from Wall Street institutions such as BlackRock and JPMorgan; cumulative inflows into US spot Ethereum ETFs have exceeded $11.23 billion.
Odaily Odaily A new study by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance reveals that approximately 31% of Ethereum node activity is located in the United States, with another 39% distributed across EU countries excluding the UK, indicating that the geographic distribution of Ethereum nodes remains relatively concentrated in Western nations.Lead researcher Alexander Neumuller stated that while node distribution is not currently concentrated in any single country, it is heavily reliant on a few major cloud service providers, including Hetzner, Amazon AWS, and OVH. Notably, the Ethereum network does not require half of its validators to fail for problems to arise. If more than one-third of validators go offline simultaneously, the network may be unable to finalize block checkpoints (finalization). Neumuller pointed out that nodes and validators do not have a one-to-one correspondence; a single node may run multiple validators. Therefore, it is currently impossible to precisely assess the actual impact on the validator network from the failure of a specific node or service provider.Furthermore, the study reassessed the energy consumption of Ethereum following The Merge. Data shows that Ethereum's current annual energy consumption is approximately 7.9 GWh, equivalent to a continuous power draw of about 1 MW. This represents only about 0.02% of pre-merge levels, a reduction of approximately 99.98%. Currently, over 56% of the energy used by the Ethereum network comes from sustainable sources, exceeding the global average.The study also noted that client software diversity is another potential risk. If a dominant client software has a vulnerability, it could affect a large number of network participants. The report was published by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance and supported by the Ethereum Foundation. (The)
EthSystems announces its official establishment. The company was founded by the original team of the Ethereum Foundation's "Institutional Privacy Working Group" and has received support from Bitmine, Sharplink, Joe Lubin, and others. It primarily develops Ethereum-based privacy and compliance technology for regulated entities such as banks and asset management institutions, aiming to support institutions in conducting on-chain financial activities without disclosing sensitive information such as transaction details and client identities.
EthSystems, an institutional privacy technology company for Ethereum, has officially launched, securing strategic funding from ecosystem supporters including Bitmine, Sharplink Gaming, and Joe Lubin.EthSystems focuses on developing privacy technologies tailored for banks, asset management firms, and other regulated institutions, enabling them to execute financial transactions at scale on the Ethereum network while protecting sensitive information such as transaction details and client identities. The company was founded by the core team of the Ethereum Foundation's Institutional Privacy Task Force (IPTF). The team had previously conducted a year-long open-source research and development effort on the EthSystems official website and established collaborations with multiple central banks, regulatory bodies, large banks, and asset management institutions.EthSystems stated that while institutions have begun exploring stablecoins, tokenized assets, and Ethereum-based settlement solutions, widespread adoption still faces privacy and compliance challenges. Financial institutions require more than just access to the blockchain network; they need a complete infrastructure that meets the requirements for protecting trade secrets, complying with regulations, and ensuring compatibility with existing financial systems. The goal is to build a "selective disclosure" privacy architecture, allowing transaction participants to view only the information they are authorized to access, while preserving Ethereum's core advantages of decentralization, security, and openness, and complementing two other organizations:Ethlabs: Focused on core Ethereum protocol and infrastructure research and development;Ethereum Institutional: Responsible for institutional collaboration, education, market research, and ecosystem coordination;EthSystems: Concentrated on application-layer technology, translating institutional needs into operational privacy protocols and financial systems.
EF Protocol Support tweeted that the Ethereum Foundation Protocol Support team has been disbanded. The team was primarily responsible for coordinating the Ethereum protocol development process, including organizing and coordinating core developer meetings, tracking network upgrade progress, supporting EIP progression, operating the Ethereum Protocol Fellowship (EPF) program, and providing education, community, and infrastructure coordination support. This adjustment is part of the Ethereum Foundation's recent organizational restructuring, as the foundation has recently seen multiple team and personnel changes.
The Ethereum Foundation's Global Policy Strategy (GPS) team has released the guide "Ethereum Basics for Governments and Institutions," aiming to help policymakers and institutional decision-makers understand Ethereum's operating mechanisms, governance models, and differences from other blockchain solutions. The guide emphasizes that relying on centralized systems brings systemic risks, while decentralized blockchains have the potential to mitigate such risks. Not all blockchains possess the attribute of "credible neutrality," and differences in technical architecture and governance models among blockchains will directly affect whether they can serve as public infrastructure in the long term. Ethereum holds advantages in areas such as resilience, economic security, client diversity, and ecosystem. It has operated continuously without interruption since launching in 2015, with economic security provided by approximately $76 billion in staked ETH, whereas most other Layer 1 networks rely on a single client, presenting higher systemic risks. The Ethereum Foundation stated that building applications on Ethereum does not introduce new centralized counterparty risks, as no single institution can modify rules, restrict access, or halt network operations. In comparison, control over some other Layer 1 networks is concentrated in foundations or corporate entities, which may bring governance and dependency risks.
According to official sources, the Ethereum Foundation stated that it has completed its five-year cooperation agreement with Argot Collective to support the development and maintenance of critical Ethereum infrastructure under a neutral, independent framework. Argot Collective stated that both parties have completed the final phase of the original five-year funding commitment, with approximately 4,938 staked ETH to be transferred to a multi-signature wallet and unlocked in phases on July 1, 2026, and July 1, 2027.
Ethereum non-profit research and development organization Ethlabs released an FAQ stating that current funding commitments can support the team's operations for the next 2 to 3 years, and will continue to pursue subsequent fundraising, with the community funding round still open.
Odaily News David Hoffman, the founder of Bankless who previously liquidated all his ETH, posted on X regarding the newly established Ethlabs, stating: "The Ethereum Foundation (EF) deliberately left a power vacuum, allowing new organizational structures to step up and influence the direction of Ethereum's development.""I believe the direction Ethlabs is leading represents the brightest future for Ethereum. I am pleased to and will continue to support them on their journey ahead."Previously, David Hoffman publicly stated in late May that he had fully exited his ETH positions. Last night, several former Ethereum Foundation researchers announced the establishment of the non-profit organization Ethlabs, aiming to drive Ethereum into its next phase of growth. Bitmine, SharpLink, and Joe Lubin have all expressed their support.
Odaily Odaily: Several former Ethereum Foundation researchers have announced the establishment of the non-profit organization Ethlabs, aimed at propelling Ethereum into its next growth phase and preparing it for institutional adoption. The organization has received support from Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, as well as two major ETH treasury companies, Bitmine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink.Ethlabs stated that as stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, funds, and autonomous AI business activities migrate on-chain, these demands are converging on Ethereum. Ethlabs' goal is to enhance the performance, trusted interoperability, neutrality, resilience, privacy, and security required for Ethereum to scale and absorb these demands.The organization was co-founded by five former senior researchers from the Ethereum Foundation, who were involved in driving several key upgrades for Ethereum over the past decade. The establishment of Ethlabs signifies that, in addition to the Ethereum Foundation, major ETH holders and core ecosystem contributors are forming new independent organizations to participate in shaping Ethereum's future direction.This move also occurs against the backdrop of recent criticism and personnel changes within the Ethereum Foundation. In recent times, some ETH holders and community members have criticized the foundation for failing to maintain sufficient competitiveness. Meanwhile, the departure of several senior executives and key research team members from the foundation has also raised external concerns regarding its organizational stability and strategic direction.
Ethereum co-founder, Consensys founder and CEO Joseph Lubin posted on X platform, stating that free market capitalism is the best system, but through shared protocols, the underlying economic layer has the potential to incorporate characteristics of "collective capitalism."Joseph Lubin believes that the world needs a truly trust-neutral global coordination and digital asset settlement platform, and currently only Ethereum possesses this capability, with its core advantage lying in its large-scale and rigorous decentralized design.He stated that in the future, more trust-neutral and well-funded organizations will work alongside the Ethereum Foundation to drive ecosystem development, focusing on three major areas: the Ethereum mainnet, Layer 2 networks, and private Ethereum networks. These networks will eventually become comparable in real-time, and ETH will flow freely throughout the expanded Ethereum ecosystem.
: The Algorand Foundation has released a quantum-resistant upgrade roadmap, planning to initiate a series of protocol upgrades in 2026 and achieve the network's overall "quantum security" capability by the end of 2027 to 2028, in response to the potential threat that future quantum computing poses to existing cryptographic systems. The roadmap shows that the first phase will introduce a post-quantum account system, multi-signature wallets, and staking support, followed by a gradual upgrade of core protocol components to achieve a comprehensive cryptographic migration from the wallet layer to the infrastructure. It is reported that multiple public blockchain ecosystems, including the Ethereum Foundation and Solana, have also initiated similar research into post-quantum cryptography and migration planning. (CoinDesk)
The Algorand Foundation has officially released its post-quantum upgrade roadmap, planning to initiate a series of protocol modifications in 2026 and achieve full “quantum-resilient” capability across the network by the end of 2027 through 2028—addressing potential future threats posed by quantum computing to existing cryptographic systems. According to the roadmap, Phase I will introduce a post-quantum account system, multi-signature wallets, and staking support; subsequent phases will progressively upgrade core protocol components, enabling comprehensive cryptographic migration—from wallet layers to infrastructure. It is reported that several other public-chain ecosystems—including the Ethereum Foundation and Solana—have also launched similar research and migration initiatives for post-quantum cryptography.
According to CoinDesk, Ethereum core developers have entered the final development phase of the Glamsterdam upgrade and are currently running development networks (devnets) that incorporate all planned Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs); once complete, the upgrade will advance to public testnets. Parithosh Jayanthi, a core developer at the Ethereum Foundation, stated that Glamsterdam “could be the largest fork upgrade since the Merge,” fundamentally altering many foundational assumptions of Ethereum and laying the groundwork for large-scale future scaling. It is expected to go live in the second half of 2026, though the exact date remains undetermined. Key components of this upgrade include: First, embedded Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS, EIP-7732), which moves off-chain block building and proposing processes on-chain to reduce MEV-related manipulation risks and centralization concerns; Second, block-level access lists (EIP-7928), enabling blocks to pre-declare accounts and smart contract data they need to access, thereby improving block execution efficiency and predictability; Third, broad gas fee repricing—costs for high-compute operations will decrease while state storage costs will increase—to more accurately reflect resource consumption and ensure compatibility with zero-knowledge proof-based scaling solutions. Currently, the development team is focused on testing, finalizing specifications, and community communication.
A cryptography expert advisory committee led by Coinbase released a report stating that Bitcoin should immediately begin preparing for potential quantum computing attacks. However, the committee did not take a clear stance on whether to freeze the millions of bitcoins potentially vulnerable to quantum-computing theft in the future. The committee includes several leading experts, such as Justin Drake, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation. They argue that the current debate is not about *how* to introduce quantum-resistant signature schemes, but rather *how to handle* bitcoins held in long-dormant addresses that fail to migrate. One camp advocates setting a final deadline after which Bitcoin’s existing ECDSA and Schnorr signature schemes would no longer be supported, and unmigrated funds would be frozen—thereby preventing future quantum attackers from seizing large amounts of BTC and destabilizing markets. The other camp contends that freezing funds would effectively amount to asset confiscation, violating Bitcoin’s core principles of immutability and full user control over assets—and could set a precedent for future regulatory-driven freezes. The Coinbase advisory committee notes that these approaches are not mutually exclusive and could be combined. Yet it declines to state a position on whether “legacy BTC” should be frozen, asserting that the ultimate decision rests with Bitcoin’s community governance. It emphasizes two key points: first, technical development of quantum-resistant signature migration must begin immediately—not wait for governance debates to conclude; second, users must receive clear, timely risk communication to prevent prolonged uncertainty from harming the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin stated that Ethereum is expected to develop into a fully zero-knowledge proof (ZK Proof) based protocol within the next three to five years. This will not only optimize the main chain but also enhance Ethereum’s composability with Layer 2 solutions. Lubin expressed support for the "Rollup-centric roadmap," believing that by strengthening Layer 1, introducing the "Lean Ethereum" initiative, and promoting ZK proofs, the Ethereum base layer can be significantly upgraded. Lean Ethereum aims to achieve over 10,000 transactions per second while maintaining a high degree of decentralization on the mainnet, and also supports privacy and quantum-resistant computing solutions.On the Layer 2 front, Lubin pointed out that ZK technology has already enabled real-time proof generation on some L2 networks, with plans to extend this capability to Layer 1, ultimately transitioning to a fully ZK-based base protocol supported by multiple provers. For instance, projects like Consensys’ Linea chain and Gnosis are leveraging zero-knowledge proofs to achieve cross-network synchronized transactions, which could potentially eliminate the need for bridges and unify fragmented liquidity.Lubin emphasized that the initial "differentiation phase" of the Rollup roadmap aims to provide experimental space for Layer 2 technology. Although it may disperse liquidity in the short term, it lays the foundation for Ethereum’s future infinite scalability and technological iteration. He believes that some L2 technologies will become systemically important components, and this exploration process is necessary.Additionally, Lubin addressed recent personnel changes at the Ethereum Foundation (EF) and rumors of a "second foundation," stating that no second foundation will emerge. The EF will continue to focus on core protocol development, usability and scalability, and institutional partnerships, while also supporting at least three independent teams spun off from the EF to concentrate on protocol development, user experience, and institutional outreach efforts. (The Block)
Odaily, Ethereum co-founder and Consensys CEO Joe Lubin stated that the recent layoffs, budget cuts, and leadership changes at the Ethereum Foundation are not a crisis, but a necessary evolution of the organization. In an interview, Lubin pointed out that the Ethereum Foundation should focus on safeguarding core protocol technology and values, while tasks such as adoption, ecosystem expansion, and institutional collaboration should be undertaken by other entities. Maintaining neutrality and credibility is crucial to avoid conflicts between commercial interests and developers. He noted a public misunderstanding of the Foundation's role: the EF's responsibility is to maintain the Ethereum protocol, not to lead commercialization or market competition strategies.Lubin also stated that the future of Ethereum will be shaped by multiple organizations working together to build the ecosystem, rather than relying on a single entity for leadership. He dismissed claims that Ethereum is on the decline, saying the network is still developing steadily, and pointed out that years of scaling efforts are laying the groundwork for the next wave of adoption, including on-chain transactions by autonomous AI agents and increased institutional usage. The Ethereum Foundation is narrowing its focus precisely to ensure the protocol can support a new generation of applications, while new organizations will take on the work of promotion and commercialization.Lubin noted that the next wave is the agent economy, where hybrid human-machine systems will use Ethereum's infrastructure for transactions. The restructuring of the Ethereum Foundation is a healthy institutional optimization that will help Ethereum maintain robust development under the premise of decentralization and prepare for future technological and business innovations. (CoinDesk)
Uniswap founder Hayden Adams posted that he is deeply grateful for the long-standing funding and multifaceted support provided by the Ethereum Foundation (EF), but he specifically clarified that Uniswap was not incubated by the EF; rather, he participated as an external grant recipient with close personal ties to the EF. Previously, EF Chair Aya Miyaguchi and co-founder Vitalik Buterin publicly shared their views on the EF’s future direction. Miyaguchi noted that one reason for proposing the EF’s mission framework at the end of last year was the growing deviation in technical discussions.
According to The Defiant, the Ethereum Foundation’s Kohaku Initiative has released an SDK for integrating privacy protocols into Ethereum wallets. A functional 4337 mempool relay supporting private transactions is now available in version v0.0.1-alpha.21 of the kohaku-eth/railgun integration. This SDK aims to integrate shielded-pool protocols—such as Railgun, Tornado Cash, and Privacy Pools—directly into wallet interfaces, reducing reliance on centralized relay infrastructure. Kohaku has also demonstrated a CLI-based wallet and is advancing integration with production-grade wallets like Ambire, while simultaneously developing post-quantum accounts, multisig support, and hardware wallet compatibility.
Vitalik Buterin stated that the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is not the “center of Ethereum,” but rather “a node within the ecosystem,” and is currently transitioning toward a smaller, more opinionated, and more sustainability-focused organizational structure. He explained that the Foundation will prioritize allocating its limited resources to work essential for Ethereum’s viability as a censorship-resistant, control-resistant, open, private, and secure system—work that would be unlikely to happen without the Foundation’s involvement—while also reducing ETH sales. Vitalik further noted that Ethereum should not pursue only maximum throughput and low latency, but should instead aim to be “impressive” in areas such as formal verification, chain availability consensus, and reducing reliance on intermediaries. He emphasized that the Foundation’s new structure is expected to gradually stabilize over the coming months.