Vitalik Buterin argued on Sunday that the Ethereum Foundation needs to become more focused and streamlined, concentrating on what makes Ethereum unique and valuable.
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Key Takeaways:
- Buterin detailed on May 24, 2026, that the Ethereum Foundation (EF) holds only 0.16% of all ETH, far below rivals.
- The EF plans to shrink its scope, focusing solely on censorship-resistance, privacy, and open infrastructure for Ethereum.
- Buterin called for artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted formal verification to make Ethereum provably bug-free within months.
Buterin Warns Ethereum Risks Mediocrity if It Chases Speed Over Decentralization
Writing on X, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin explained that the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is choosing longevity over breadth. The shift comes after a period he described as productive, with major efficiency gains in 2025, but one question kept surfacing in his feed: Why did the foundation’s actions not reflect the decentralization and privacy values he spoke about publicly?
Vitalik Buterin recognized this conflicting viewpoint. While some welcomed the foundation’s increased focus on practical implementation and growth, he felt those who challenged the initial idealistic vision were the most influential in shaping his thinking.
To illustrate the Ethereum Foundation’s decision, Buterin used Google as an example. He explained that Google began with strong values but gradually lost sight of them due to typical business pressures. He said that if he could have changed Google’s direction in 2008 to be significantly more ethical, he would have done so instantly. He believes that when an entire industry is moving away from its principles, even one organization choosing to do the right thing can make a big difference.
That same logic now applies to the Ethereum Foundation‘s positioning within the broader ecosystem.
Buterin was direct about what the EF is and is not. He stated that the foundation is one node with a defined purpose, not a center of gravity for the entire network. The EF holds approximately 0.16% of all ETH. By comparison, central foundations behind other blockchains typically hold between 10% and 50% of their native supply. The original mandate, building the chain software through the Serenity upgrade, was completed in 2022. The EF was never designed to be a permanent steward.
In the future, the Ethereum Foundation will focus solely on the most essential work needed to keep Ethereum a secure, private, and open platform – things that wouldn’t happen without the foundation’s direct support. This means some talented developers and teams will be moving outside of the foundation’s direct control. According to Buterin, this is intentional. These external teams need the freedom to seek funding from outside sources, which is more difficult when they are part of the foundation.
On the technical side, Buterin pointed to several specific goals. He called for provably bug-free Ethereum using AI-assisted formal verification, a target he wrote would have seemed impossible six months ago but is now within reach. He also cited available chain consensus, which he described as a property only Ethereum and Bitcoin share, combining fault tolerance under asynchrony with protection against attackers controlling up to 49% of nodes. A third priority is intermediary minimization, meaning users and protocols should be able to send transactions directly to the chain without routing through third parties.
Buterin was clear that these goals are not in conflict with scalability. He wrote on X that they are compatible with high transaction throughput, lower slot times, and well-designed layer two ( L2) networks built for specific applications.
He also addressed ETH directly. Buterin said the asset secures $250 billion in value and that nearly 90% of his net worth is held in ETH. The remainder, approximately $40 million, is in onchain fiat that he said has already been allocated to open-source biotech, software, and hardware projects. He noted that some aspects of supporting ETH as an asset fall outside the EF’s new scope, and called on other organizations, some of which hold more ETH than the foundation does, to take on that work.
Buterin concluded by explaining how the Ethereum Foundation is evolving: it’s becoming a leaner, more focused organization designed for long-term sustainability. He expects this new structure to fully solidify in the coming months.
Aya Miyaguchi, a member of the board, is now in charge of the day-to-day work of the changeover. Vitalik Buterin explained that he expects his role on the board to become smaller, and he believes this is a positive development.
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2026-05-25 02:27