Vitalik Buterin, one of the founders of Ethereum, announced that his influence in the Ethereum Foundation (EF) is gradually decreasing. However, he stated that he consciously chose this situation in order to allow the foundation to expand structurally to a wider community.
Power sharing and new orientation in management
Buterin emphasized that he does not have any special privileges within EF’s board of directors, different from other members. Buterin clearly stated that the board is currently expanding and its influence will decrease over time, and said that this is compatible with the founding purposes of the foundation. The Foundation never aimed to become the permanent and indispensable center of the network.
According to Buterin’s statements, the Ethereum Foundation adopts a more transparent and sharing structure, rather than being the sole guide in the ecosystem, just like a “little ship”.
“The board is growing and my power within the organization will continue to wane, which is something I actually want,” Buterin said.
The goal of decentralization in the ecosystem
Buterin stated that the Ethereum Foundation holds only 0.16 percent of the total ETH supply. This reveals that the relevant foundation operates with a much more limited asset compared to many competing layer-1 blockchain projects. In numerical terms, various alternative blockchain projects are known to have their own foundations that have much higher proportions of their total supply.
Mini dictionary: Layer-1 means the main network in blockchain projects and refers to the basic infrastructure on which other applications or protocols are built. Blockchains such as Ethereum and Bitcoin are known as layer-1.
| Foundation | Share in Total Supply |
|---|---|
| Ethereum Foundation | 0.16% |
| Various competing projects | Mostly 5% or more |
Long-term treasury management and resource utilization
The Ethereum Foundation is restructuring its treasury management in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the foundation. The aim is to focus on longer-term and permanent goals rather than spreading available resources to large-scale projects.
Buterin stated that they will use existing resources for long-term benefit, so they will slowly reduce the amount of ETH they hold.
Buterin stated, “EF chooses to spend its remaining resources on long-lived targets. This means we sell less of the ETH we have.”
A race for speed and a call for a return to basics
Buterin also criticized the speed and scalability-focused approach observed in some projects in the crypto industry. According to him, going overboard with transaction speed could compromise decentralization and security. The point he opposes the most is; Compromising the fundamental principles of the network to achieve 250 millisecond latency and one million transactions per second (TPS).
Emphasizing that it is not enough to just be fast and large-scale, Buterin pointed out that the main way for Ethereum to be remarkable is through the smoothness of the code, open consensus on the chain and reducing dependence on intermediaries.
Buterin warned: “Being fast and scalable enough, but remaining a little more decentralized, leads to a moderate level of success. If we try this, we will eventually lose.”
