The Ethereum Foundation, the independent organization responsible for developing the Ethereum network, has opened applications for the seventh round of its protocol development fellowship. Applications are open until May 13, and selected participants will receive education and mentorship from core developers between June and November. Participants in the fellowship will also be granted monthly financial support during the six-month program.
What does the EPF7 program offer?
In its official announcement, the Ethereum Foundation explained that this new cycle will proceed with a smaller group compared to previous years. The foundation aims to provide each participant with more individualized mentorship and deeper project involvement by focusing on a more select group. The fellowship is open to individuals with a strong background in software engineering who are self-motivated and interested in open-source development. Chosen fellows will contribute to client applications, testing processes, technical documentation, and core protocol research.
In previous years, a majority of participants continued on with Ethereum client teams as long-term developers. The fellowship serves as a pipeline for fresh talent, supporting the advancement of the network’s roadmap. The final size and composition of this fellowship cohort will be determined after applications close on May 13.
The foundation’s protocol support team emphasized that they are “prioritizing impactful contributions on participants’ projects over the number of participants” in this round.
Ethereum Foundation’s resource management in recent months
Earlier this year, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced the foundation would temporarily curtail its spending. At that time, the foundation held approximately 172,000 ETH, with annual expenditures sometimes reaching up to $100 million. Following a major sale six days ago, the foundation’s current ETH holdings now exceed 92,000. These measures are intended to use resources more efficiently and ensure the long-term sustainability of the Ethereum ecosystem.
Additionally, Buterin has personally pledged 16,384 ETH over the next five years to support the ecosystem. These steps are expected to help the foundation manage existing assets more prudently and expand its development activities.
Expanded ecosystem support and new initiatives
One day before the EPF7 announcement, the foundation publicly disclosed its Ecosystem Support Program grants for the first quarter of 2026. Ongoing grants continue to fund work on cryptography, zero-knowledge proofs, protocol security, and fundamental research. Supported projects include the TypeScript-based EthereumJS infrastructure, performance evaluations testing network sizes ten times greater than mainnet, and client development for the Fusaka transition within Lighthouse.
Furthermore, recruitment has continued for interns in the 2026 program focusing on protocol consensus, cryptography, and protocol security. In addition, a new global civil society initiative called the Ethereum Applications Guild has been launched, with the goal of advancing the proliferation of Ethereum-based applications and supporting projects with tangible real-world impact.
Foundation officials commented that “while resources devoted to core development are being managed cautiously, innovative projects in both protocol and application domains continue to receive funding.”
