Foreign media reports that following a series of high-level departures from the Ethereum Foundation, discussions surrounding governance, funding, and core development support continue to intensify. Eli Ben-Sasson, co-founder of Zcash and StarkWare, has publicly stated that he neither wants to join those who are pessimistic about Ethereum nor intends to endorse the status quo.
The personnel changes in recent months continue to unfold.
The report mentions that at least eight senior figures have left the Ethereum Foundation in the past five months. The latest development is the departure of co-executive director and board member Hsiao-Wei Wang. This series of changes comes at a time when Ethereum faces intensified competition from other public blockchains.
Besides personnel issues, development funding has also become a focus of attention. Former Ethereum Foundation contributor Trent Van Epps previously stated that with the foundation reducing spending and the client incentive program (CIP) expiring, Ethereum Core development may face a "slowly brewing" financial pressure in the next 3 to 9 months.
Ben-Sasson stated that Ethereum has both advantages and political factors.
Ben-Sasson stated on social media that his remarks were not intended to criticize the Ethereum Foundation, nor to declare that Ethereum had reached its end. He also emphasized that he would not say that everything was going smoothly.
He believes Ethereum has many advantages, but political factors also exist within its ecosystem. As a long-term participant, he hopes the discussion can return to the technology and its implementation, rather than simply taking sides.
Taking the STARK route as an example to discuss technical orientation
Ben-Sasson also recalled that StarkWare developed a post-quantum ZK-STARK system between 2019 and 2020 in hopes of helping Ethereum scale and improve its readiness for the quantum era.
He stated that choosing the STARK and zkVM routes was not popular at the time, and was even considered inconsistent with the mainstream approach. However, he said he is still glad he made those decisions.
Ben-Sasson concluded by stating his hope that the new system will prioritize capabilities and technological achievements over "consistency." While this statement did not directly comment on the foundation's next steps, it reflects the ongoing discussions within the Ethereum ecosystem regarding governance methods and resource allocation.
