Vitalik Buterin explained his view on the current transition process that the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is going through, which aims to adopt strategies to increase longevity, specialization and expertise in technical matters.
In a lengthy post on X, the Ethereum co-founder explained that the EF is not focused on its broad coordination role. Instead, it became a specialized node in the broader Ethereum ecosystem.
This is in line with ensuring the organization focuses on functions that are important to Ethereum’s sustainability as a censorship-resistant, privately secure, open and private technology – a concept abbreviated as CROPS – that can benefit from formal AI verification technology.
Vitalik Buterin stands for EF’s evolving role in the cryptocurrency market
To start, Buterin He explained that the views stated were his own contributions to technical matters and did not reflect board-level direction. Currently, the Foundation’s Board of Directors is growing significantly, especially under the leadership of @aerugoettinea, and Buterin has been deliberately reducing his involvement in the management of the Foundation because it is now in his interest.
He further stated that 2025 was a very successful year, with increased efficiency, efficiency and focus on realistic goals resolving many of the operational challenges the organization faced earlier.
Comparing Google’s early slogan “Don’t be evil” with Buterin’s emphasis on the need for some organizations within the sector to resist the general trend of greed and fast-paced super-intelligence.
Buterin reiterated that the foundation was just another node and not a central authority like Ethereum. It was consistent with its original goal during the token sale era, which was completed with the help of the Serenity upgrade.
Financial responsibility is at the heart of the axis. At present, EF only holds about 0.16% of the total ETH in circulation – far less than even some individuals or companies – and it certainly does not qualify as a permanent custodian of the entire ecosystem.
To achieve maximum efficiency, it will focus on longevity rather than scale, which means it will sell smaller amounts of ETH.
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Buterin’s vision begins and ends with the need for Ethereum to be “very impressive” within the CROPS program, not speed alone, which would simply make it mediocre. He flatly rejects 250ms latency and 1 million TPS as a recipe for failure, because it would make… Ethereum It is not more decentralized than its competitors.
Instead, the team will aim to achieve three main goals in terms of technology, all of which can be achieved with the help of highly productive and scalable L2 systems:
Error-free software via formal AI-assisted verification: What was once considered impossible for cybersecurity researchers has now become possible over the past few months, all thanks to AI innovations. EF’s goal is to make Ethereum one of the leaders in having bug-free code.
Available string consensus: On the other hand, Ethereum offers BFT security in an asynchronous environment, along with Bitcoin-like security in a synchronous environment (up to 49% byzantine). Buterin noted that he was always averse to using social consensus or a hard fork as a solution to even the 34% Byzantine failure rate.
Reducing the middleman: Current efforts related to FOCIL, EIP-8141, EIP-7701, and other projects aim to address the need for intermediaries to onboard transactions on Ethereum. This will be especially useful for smart contract wallets, privacy-oriented systems like Railgun, and higher-level applications like Kohaku.
Wider implications for ETH and its ecosystem
Buterin highlighted that about $250 billion worth of Ethereum was secured on Ethereum, which remained the single most important financial asset. About 90% of his net worth was invested in ETH, while the rest was invested in open source neighborhood, software, and hardware development projects.
However, some of the market-related responsibilities related to ETH fall outside the scope of EF’s new focus. Buterin has encouraged “other champions” — including organizations that own more ETH than the Foundation — to take responsibility, with the latter willing to provide any necessary support initially.
Through this model, Ethereum will be ensured to remain decentralized, with EF maintaining the integrity of the blockchain while others promote ETH as a market leader.
This will be difficult to achieve. As reported CryptopolitanEF appears to be experiencing a major talent exodus, with at least six individuals leaving or going on vacation since April and May 2026 alone.
Recent departures include Carl Beck and Julian Ma, two senior researchers at EF, who resigned on May 18.
Seven-year veteran Carl Beck, who was among those who helped set up Beacon Chain and perform at the KZG concert, confirmed that May 29 would be his last day on the job. Julian Ma, a four-year-old cryptoeconomics researcher, said he was leaving, expressing gratitude for collaborating on some important projects.
