Ethereum's core technology continues to improve with major upgrades rolling out on schedule, but the organization historically responsible for funding that development is shrinking rapidly and may run out of money within three to nine months. The Ethereum Foundation announced a 20% workforce reduction on June 23, 2026, just days after its co-executive director resigned, marking the second executive departure in four months.

What's Happening at the Ethereum Foundation Right Now?

The Ethereum Foundation, the nonprofit organization that has historically funded core development work on Ethereum, is undergoing a major restructuring. At least nine senior people left the organization in 2026 alone, including core coordinators Barnabe Monnot and Tim Beiko. Hsiao-Wei Wang stepped down as co-executive director on June 18, 2026, following Tomasz Stańczak's departure in February after less than a year in the role.

The foundation announced on June 23, 2026 that it would cut roughly 20% of its entire workforce. The remaining staff is now organized into five main areas: Protocol, Access, User, Community, and Institutional. Currently, Bastian Aue is running the Foundation alone, with no one named to share the executive director role.

Trent Van Epps, who worked inside the Foundation for five years coordinating the teams that maintain Ethereum's core software, warned that the work could hit a funding crisis within three to nine months based on current spending levels.

How Does Ethereum Actually Work Without a Strong Foundation?

Ethereum operates as a decentralized network where changes are proposed and debated publicly rather than decided by a single organization. The network runs on proof of stake, meaning validators lock up ETH (Ethereum's native token) to secure the network and earn rewards, rather than relying on energy-intensive mining. Governance happens through Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), which are drafted, discussed publicly, and then either adopted by client teams or left to stall.

This decentralized structure means Ethereum can theoretically continue operating even if the Foundation disappears entirely. However, the Foundation has historically funded the teams that build and maintain the client software that runs the network. Without that funding, those teams may struggle to continue their work.

• Recent Upgrades: Ethereum shipped Pectra in May 2025, Fusaka in December 2025, and Glamsterdam in mid-2026, with Hegotá expected in the second half of 2026
• Staking Growth: Roughly 35.8 million ETH, nearly 30% of total circulating supply, is now locked up as staking collateral, up from 18 million ETH in March 2023
• Institutional Access: Two U.S. Ethereum staking ETFs (exchange-traded funds) launched in April 2026: Grayscale's ETHE and BlackRock's ETHB, allowing traditional investors to earn staking rewards through regular brokerage accounts
• Market Position: As of June 21, 2026, Ethereum's market cap sits at roughly $212.5 billion, ranking it number two on CoinGecko, with an all-time high of $4,946.05 set in August 2025

Why Are Experts Still Bullish on Ethereum Despite the Foundation's Problems?

Many industry observers argue that the Ethereum Foundation's struggles are separate from the underlying technology's strength. Wall Street strategist Tom Lee of Fundstrat completely dismisses rumors of an Ethereum funding crisis, stating there is "zero chance" the network runs out of money, and says he keeps buying ETH regardless of market noise.

"Bitcoin and Ethereum, to me, are the core assets. Everything else is a venture project," said Dan Tapiero, founder of 1RoundTable Partners and 10T Holdings.

Dan Tapiero, Founder at 1RoundTable Partners and 10T Holdings

Tom Dunleavy, who leads venture investing at Varys Capital, evaluates Ethereum through a different lens. He treats the network like a giant digital vault holding massive amounts of wealth, from stablecoins to tokenized real-world assets. Based on this framework, he argues Ethereum could reach price targets of $20,000 to $50,000 if the blockchain holds $1 trillion of network activity and the asset itself remains integral to consensus and security.

"Ethereum is, first and foremost, a technology that is improving every day. The Ethereum Foundation is a separate entity. I believe Ethereum is very close to becoming an optimal, multifunctional payment instrument for the broader financial market thanks to improved transaction speeds, optional privacy, and low fees. The downsizing of non-functional staff at the EF has absolutely nothing to do with that," explained Pauline Shangett, Head of Brand at ChangeNOW.

Pauline Shangett, Head of Brand at ChangeNOW

Shangett also noted that the Foundation's recent layoffs appear to be a pragmatic business move. Industry consensus suggests the organization was shedding "dead weight," mostly inactive employees hired during the bull market. She added that the broader crypto industry is adopting a leaner approach and demanding higher standards around protocol security and founder support.

Thomas Brunner, head of custody and staking at Sygnum Bank, noted that the recent launch of Ethereum staking ETFs gives traditional investors exactly what they want: a way to buy ETH and earn passive staking rewards through their regular brokerage accounts, completely skipping the headache of crypto wallets and technical setups.

What's the Pattern Behind Ethereum's Price History?

Ethereum has experienced three major boom-and-bust cycles since its launch. Each rally has had a specific trigger, and each crash has tracked back to a concrete event like market-wide deleveraging, a major exchange or protocol failure, or a macro shift in rates or liquidity.

The first cycle ran from 2017 to 2018, when the initial coin offering (ICO) boom pushed ETH from under $10 to a then-high near $1,400. The 2018 crash erased most of those gains, bottoming around $81 in December 2018. The second cycle, from 2020 to 2021, saw decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFTs drive the next leg up, with ETH hitting an all-time high near $4,891 in November 2021. The Terra collapse and FTX's bankruptcy a year later wiped out most of the gains, and ETH spent 2022 to 2023 mostly between $1,000 and $2,000. The third cycle began in 2024 when spot ETH ETFs launched in the U.S. in July 2024, opening the door to institutional money. By August 2025, ETH broke its old record, hitting a new all-time high of $4,946.

The bull case for Ethereum ultimately rests on who is building on the network and how seriously they are doing it. Macro investors increasingly put ETH in a different category than the rest of the crypto market, treating it as a core asset rather than a speculative venture project. For many long-term believers, the key to evaluating Ethereum is decoupling the underlying technology from the organization that helped build it, especially as the Foundation steps back from its historical role in funding core development.