Vitalik Buterin at TechCrunch London for a ProCoinNews story about Ethereum core development funding.

Ethereum Is Worth $210 Billion. A Former EF Insider Says Its Core Builders Could Run Short of Cash by Spring.

By Isaac • June 20, 2026 11:07 pm • Comments

Ethereum sits second by market capitalization right now. CoinGecko’s current market data showed ETH near $1,737 with market cap around $210 billion in the snapshot used for this story, underscoring how large and institutional the network remains.

The people who maintain its core software may still face a cash problem within the next year.

Trenton Van Epps, who worked at the Ethereum Foundation from May 2021 to April 2026 on core development funding, the Protocol Guild, and Ethereum’s political economy, warned this week that core development could hit a funding crisis inside three to nine months.

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He published the warning himself, then pointed people to it.


Cointelegraph reported Van Epps’ warning that Ethereum core development could face a near-term funding squeeze. Former Ethereum Foundation contributor Trenton Van Epps warned that Ethereum core development could face a funding crisis within 3 to 9 months.

Cointelegraph said Van Epps estimated roughly $30 million per year is needed to support more than 10 client, research, and coordination teams. The article also noted that Cointelegraph could not independently verify every part of the warning, which is an important guardrail for the story.

The issue is not whether Ethereum still exists or whether ETH has suddenly lost its market position. It is whether the ecosystem has reliable funding lined up for the people and teams that keep client software, research, upgrades, and coordination moving.

That is a governance and maintenance question, not a shutdown prediction. For readers, the $30 million number matters because it is tiny compared with Ethereum’s market value but large enough to expose coordination gaps when there is no obvious replacement fund.

Trenton Van Epps made the primary argument that Ethereum needs a clearer core development funding path after EF subtraction. Van Epps wrote that he worked at the Ethereum Foundation from May 2021 to April 2026 on core development funding, Protocol Guild, and Ethereum’s political economy.

That background gives his warning weight while still leaving it as one informed contributor’s view rather than an official Ethereum Foundation statement. He said the Protocol Guild’s Core Development Funding Pilot expired in April 2026 and that no public replacement had been announced.

He warned of a slow-burning funding crisis within 3 to 9 months if the ecosystem does not replace that support. His estimate was roughly $30 million annually for client teams, research groups, and coordination work across Ethereum core development.

He also connected the funding issue to succession, arguing that Vitalik Buterin cannot be treated as an eternal steward for Ethereum’s direction. That makes the piece broader than a budget complaint: it is a call for Ethereum to mature its institutions as the foundation steps back from doing everything itself.

Ethereum Foundation laid out the official treasury framework that explains why EF resources are not unlimited. The Ethereum Foundation’s 2025 treasury policy framed the treasury as finite resources that need deliberate management instead of an open-ended funding pool.

The policy set operating-expense and reserve-buffer targets, giving the foundation a clearer framework for spending and runway. That matters because outside readers can easily assume a network as large as Ethereum must have limitless core development money available.

The official policy points the other way: even a major ecosystem has to choose what the foundation funds directly and what the broader community must support. Van Epps’ warning lands inside that policy shift, where the EF is trying to subtract from some roles while the ecosystem has to decide what replaces the old support model.

The treasury policy does not prove a funding crisis on its own. It does show why the debate is real: finite resources, a narrower foundation mandate, and core teams that still need predictable support can collide even while Ethereum remains a top crypto asset.

CoinDesk reported another Ethereum Foundation leadership exit as funding and succession questions build. CoinDesk reported that Ethereum Foundation co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang stepped down, adding to a run of high-profile departures.

The story placed the resignation inside broader scrutiny over EF governance, strategy, and leadership. That context matters because Van Epps’ funding warning is arriving while Ethereum is already discussing who leads, who pays, and who coordinates the next phase of protocol work.

Leadership turnover does not mean Ethereum development stops. It does mean that funding questions can feel more urgent when the institution historically associated with coordination is also changing its leadership bench.

For readers, the overlap is the story: succession, treasury discipline, and core development funding are no longer separate debates. They are all part of the same question about how Ethereum stays technically ambitious while reducing dependence on a small group of people and one foundation balance sheet.


Lee’s confidence is a real signal too. ETH has enormous institutional support, ETF demand, and a deep base of aligned capital, and plenty of well-funded actors have reason to keep core development healthy.

So this is a coordination problem more than a solvency problem. The money exists somewhere in the ecosystem.

The open question is whether a clean, durable mechanism replaces the expired pilot before any team feels the squeeze.

Ethereum is not failing, and nothing here says it is. A network this size with this much value secured by its clients should be able to fund the people who maintain those clients without drama.

The test is whether the ecosystem builds that funding institution on purpose, or waits until a gap forces it. Van Epps is betting on the former, and he gave the timeline three to nine months.

The next few months will show whether anyone steps up to close it.

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