Ethereum · The Block
Ethereum could face core development ‘funding crisis’ within nine months, confirms former EF contributor
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Former Ethereum Foundation contributor Trent VanEpps warned Thursday that the network’s core development ecosystem could run into a "slow-burning" funding crisis within the next three to nine months as the EF scales back spending and a major client funding program expires.
Key facts
- Ether traded near $1,688 on Friday, down 3.1% over the past 24 hours, 's ETH price page
- According to VanEpps, Ethereum’s core development ecosystem requires roughly $30 million in annual funding to maintain the secure delivery of features and maintenance across more than 10 client
- I believe we are underweighting the risk of this underinvestment in continuity,” VanEpps wrote in the post, adding that, “When they register the resulting symptoms in 12-18 months, the damage will be much harder and more costly to reverse
- He cited recent comments from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin that the foundation completed the work outlined in Ethereum's original pre-launch documents in 2022 and "was not designed
Summary
VanEpps, who coordinated core development at the EF from May 2021 until April 2026, said in an X post that the expiration of the Client Incentive Program in April 2026 and the foundation’s ongoing treasury reductions risk undermining the institutional capacity built across Ethereum's core development ecosystem over the past decade. The CIP, a four-year program that funded client teams through staking-based rewards, ended in April and "no replacement appears to be forthcoming," VanEpps said. According to VanEpps, Ethereum’s core development ecosystem requires roughly $30 million in annual funding to maintain the secure delivery of features and maintenance across more than 10 client teams, research groups, and coordination teams.