Foreign media reports that Trent VanEpps, a former Ethereum Foundation employee, warned that the Ethereum development ecosystem may face funding pressures in the next 3 to 9 months. This assessment does not refer to short-term budget fluctuations, but rather to a contraction in long-term funding sources supporting client teams, researchers, and protocol developers.

Annual demand is approximately US$30 million.

VanEpps estimates that the Ethereum core development ecosystem requires approximately $30 million annually to support client teams, researchers, coordinators, and protocol developers. He believes that given the already substantial size of the Ethereum network, this cost is not particularly high, but the infrastructure and R&D work undertaken by these teams is difficult to replace quickly.

He pointed out that the current pressure mainly comes from two changes: first, the Ethereum Foundation is cutting spending; second, the original client incentive program has ended, but an alternative has not yet been announced.

• The Ethereum Foundation will propose a fund management plan in 2025.
• The annual spending target is proposed to be reduced from 15% to approximately 5% by 2030.
• The client incentive program expired in April 2026.

It's not easy for a foundation to step back from the limelight.

The article states that part of the controversy stems from the Ethereum Foundation's long-standing emphasis on the "Subtraction" approach. The core of this approach is that the foundation should not act as the power center of the network in the long term, but rather allow more independent institutions to gradually assume responsibilities.

VanEpps believes that while the direction has been clearly communicated conceptually, the reality is that the ecosystem has not yet fully taken over the various roles assumed by the foundation. Even if the foundation intends to step back, it still maintains a strong influence through its brand, financial reserves, research team, Ethereum.org, and large-scale events such as Devcon, while also maintaining a close relationship with Vitalik Buterin.

The next phase requires a new undertaking organization.

VanEpps also mentioned that Buterin recently stated that the Ethereum Foundation was never established to permanently manage the network. This means that as Ethereum enters its next phase, the ecosystem needs new institutions, funding models, and governance arrangements to take over core development work.

If stable funding cannot be replenished in time, he believes Ethereum may face several consequences, including the loss of experienced developers, a slowdown in scaling progress, and disruptions to long-term research such as quantum resistance. A more direct risk is that external expectations of Ethereum's reliability may be impacted.

The article argues that this statement is more like urging the Ethereum community to establish a sustainable funding mechanism as soon as possible, rather than waiting for the effects of insufficient investment to become apparent in a year or two.