Ethereum may be facing a growing funding problem that could become noticeable within the next three to nine months, according to former Ethereum Foundation contributor Trent Van Epps.
In a recent post on X, Van Epps, who recently concluded a five year tenure at the Foundation, argued that the issue goes beyond a temporary budget shortfall and reflects deeper structural shifts across the Ethereum ecosystem.
Growing Funding Pressure
Van Epps highlighted the Ethereum Foundation’s long standing “Subtraction” philosophy, a strategy designed to gradually reduce the Foundation’s direct influence while encouraging the wider community to take greater responsibility for supporting and developing the network.
While he acknowledged that this approach has successfully reinforced the idea that the Foundation should not remain Ethereum’s sole center of authority, he believes it has fallen short in ensuring that other institutions step in to replace the support being phased out.
According to him, the Ethereum Foundation still plays a uniquely important role due to its reputation, historical leadership in protocol development, close association with Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin, control over key communication channels and trademarks, and long term backing of core developers and researchers.
However, Van Epps warned that one of the Foundation’s most critical assets, its treasury, is becoming increasingly limited.
Over the past decade, the Foundation has used a significant portion of its ETH reserves to help grow the ecosystem. To preserve remaining resources, spending has already begun slowing. He referenced the treasury strategy announced in June 2025, which outlined plans to gradually reduce annual spending from 15% to a long term endowment style rate of 5% by 2030.
Expiring Programs Add to the Concern
Another major issue is the expiration of Ethereum’s Client Incentive Program in April 2026.
This four year initiative provided funding for client development teams through staking rewards, and no replacement program has been announced.
Based on discussions with Ethereum’s core development community, Van Epps said these factors have created a real possibility that funding strain could intensify over the coming months.
He estimates Ethereum requires roughly $30 million annually to maintain current development capacity, including support for client teams, researchers, and ecosystem coordination.
Long Term Risks Could Be Significant
Van Epps warned that without reliable funding, Ethereum risks losing highly experienced contributors whose expertise has taken years to build.
That talent loss could make it far more difficult to address major technical priorities such as network scaling and future security threats, including quantum computing risks.
He emphasized that the consequences of underinvestment may not be immediately obvious. Instead, the damage could become visible over the next 12 to 18 months, at which point rebuilding lost capacity would be much more difficult and expensive.
Looking ahead, Van Epps does not believe the Ethereum Foundation will remain the network’s primary steward over the next decade.
Echoing earlier remarks from Vitalik Buterin, he noted that the Foundation was never intended to serve as Ethereum’s permanent caretaker.
Instead, he argued that Ethereum now needs new institutions and sustainable funding models capable of supporting long term development and preserving the shared infrastructure the ecosystem depends on.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.net https://t.me/coinsignalpublic
