Ex-EF lead warns core devs may face funding shortfall

Trent Van Epps, a former Ethereum Foundation coordinator, warned core developers who maintain Ethereum’s base layer could face a funding shortfall within three to nine months. He pointed to recent spending cuts at the foundation and the winding down of the Client Incentive Program as key triggers.

Van Epps estimated the annual cost to sustain core development at about $30 million and described the risk as a gradual erosion of resources rather than a sudden collapse. For years, much of the funding flowed through Protocol Guild, a collective Van Epps helped organize to pool donations and token allocations for contributors. That model depended on voluntary contributions rather than a fixed budget.

Van Epps left the foundation on April 11, 2026, after nearly five years with the organization. His warning follows the departures of eight senior researchers from the foundation this year, five of those exits occurring in May. Exits included co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak and other researchers and coordinators who had worked on the project for years.

The foundation converted 5,000 ether to fund operations and has staked tens of thousands of ether to generate recurring yield instead of selling holdings. It has continued to fund security work, including a $1 million audit subsidy program for builders, and has restated its 2026 protocol priorities around scaling and resilience.

Separately, one developer has proposed forming a new organization that could be backed with as much as $1 billion to provide steadier funding for core work.

Van Epps warned that a sustained shortfall would push experienced contributors toward higher-paying roles outside the project and could slow protocol upgrades and security work as competing chains increase pressure on Ethereum’s development roadmap. He wrote: “The foundation was never meant to be the network’s permanent steward.”

The next three to nine months will show whether Protocol Guild, the foundation and any new funding bodies can close the gap Van Epps described before it affects core development.