Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has openly stated that his influence within the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is gradually diminishing. He clarified that this is a conscious choice, designed to help the foundation become more decentralized and ensure a broader community plays a role in Ethereum’s future leadership.
Authority shared, not centralized
Buterin emphasized that within the EF’s board, he enjoys no special privileges compared to other members. Highlighting the board’s ongoing expansion, he explained that his own authority has been intentionally reduced over time, in line with the foundation’s founding ideals. The Ethereum Foundation, according to Buterin, was never meant to be the network’s permanent or irreplaceable core.
In his remarks, Buterin likened the Ethereum Foundation to a “small vessel” steering clear of acting as the single leader of the ecosystem. Instead, EF now puts greater emphasis on transparency and shared governance.
“The board is growing, and my power within the organization will continue to diminish. This is exactly what I want,” said Buterin, explaining his vision for EF’s evolving leadership.
Decentralization in the ecosystem
Buterin also revealed that the Ethereum Foundation currently holds just 0.16 percent of the total ETH supply. This makes the foundation’s holdings far smaller than most competing layer-1 blockchain projects, many of which retain a much higher percentage of their native tokens. By contrast, rival layer-1 foundations often control 5 percent or more of their token supply.
Glossary: Layer-1 refers to the primary blockchain network in a project, providing the base infrastructure for other applications and protocols. Networks like Ethereum and Bitcoin are called layer-1 blockchains.
| Foundation | Share of Total Supply |
|---|---|
| Ethereum Foundation | 0.16% |
| Various rival projects | Typically 5% or higher |
Long-term treasury strategy
The Ethereum Foundation is restructuring its treasury management to better support its long-term sustainability. The foundation’s goal is to allocate resources towards lasting, impactful initiatives rather than spreading them across many short-term projects.
Buterin has indicated a new policy where the foundation aims to deploy its remaining ETH gradually to serve long-term benefits, rather than selling off large portions in the short term.
“The EF is choosing to spend its remaining resources on enduring goals. This means we will be selling less of our ETH,” Buterin explained about the revised treasury policy.
Focus on principles over speed
Buterin also criticized the prevailing hype within some crypto projects for prioritizing speed and scalability at the expense of key foundational values. He argued that seeking extremely low latency, such as 250 millisecond block times or aiming for one million transactions per second, can come at the cost of security and genuine decentralization.
Buterin underscored that mere speed or scale is not enough. What sets Ethereum apart, he said, is reliability in its code, clarity in on-chain consensus, and minimizing reliance on intermediaries—core principles that must not be sacrificed for growth alone.
Buterin warned, “If you aim to be just fast and scalable, but compromise even slightly on decentralization, that leads to mediocrity. If we follow that path, we will eventually lose.”
The underlying message from Buterin calls for a return to Ethereum’s core principles even as the foundation becomes less centralized. The focus, he suggests, should be on nurturing resilience, transparency, and secure protocols, rather than chasing short-term benchmarks.
By steadily easing control and adopting a sustainable resource plan, the Ethereum Foundation aims to set an example of community-driven progress for other crypto organizations.
Buterin’s candid updates provide a clear signal that Ethereum’s evolution remains rooted in openness, with governance and assets increasingly distributed across the ecosystem.
