Van Epps Stays Bullish Despite Ethereum Funding Concerns

Former Ethereum Foundation member Trent Van Epps says he left after the organization doubled down on its “subtraction” approach, deliberately pushing authority out to the wider ecosystem instead of holding onto control. Recent leadership changes and staff cuts at the Foundation have only added to questions about who steps up next.

The Real Problem Is Money, Not Tech

Van Epps estimates core protocol development needs about $30 million a year, even as the Foundation’s treasury shrinks. He says the challenge isn’t technical, it’s finding organizations willing to fund the public goods that keep Ethereum secure. His own Protocol Guild has paid out nearly $40 million to core developers over four years but can’t cover the gap alone. He also flagged the “free rider” problem, where firms use Ethereum’s infrastructure without helping pay for it.

Still Bullish Long Term

Despite the funding strain, Van Epps says Ethereum still leads in DeFi, stablecoins and EVM adoption. He expects governance to spread across more institutions over the next decade, with success eventually measured in billions of users on Ethereum and its Layer 2s.