Is ‘multi-node’ ETH Labs the answer to ‘shrinking’ Ethereum Foundation?

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) is set to reduce its role in shaping the Ethereum network’s future. And new players are now stepping up, with the latest being ETH Labs, created by former EF members. 

According to ETH Labs, its main mission is to “make Ethereum the settlement layer of the global economy.” It bills itself as a non-profit research and development (R&D) for the chain and its governance token, ETH. 

The new organization is a broad coalition across the Ethereum ecosystem from DeFi builders, venture firms, institutions, researchers, L2 founders, and more.  According to the firm, they’ve come together to “accelerate the next wave of Ethereum adoption.” 

To achieve this, the team plans to build new infrastructure and products that the ecosystem needs the most. No details were shared about these products as of press time. But the project added, 

ETH Labs is independent, but Ethereum is a shared project. We are one node in a much larger network of stewards. This is the multi-node future.

The new outfit is backed by Tom Lee’s Bitmine, Sharplink, and Joe Lubin (co-founder of Ethereum and Consensys). 

Ethereum Foundation retreats

The ETH Labs’ update was not entirely a surprise. Tom Lee recently rubbished claims that the Ethereum Foundation (EF) could face a funding crisis in the next 3-9 months. The community was concerned that the speculated crisis could affect even the planned post-quantum upgrade. 

But Lee said that funding had been secured. And, the ETH Labs unveiling might be the ‘secured funding’ Lee referenced. Commenting on the update, Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly and one of the ETH Labs backers, said, 

While the EF is shrinking its mandate and more focused on protecting Ethereum’s core properties, a group of EF builders have spun out to create a second org.

He added, 

Its mandate is simple: accelerate Ethereum. Increase adoption. Protect DeFi. Solve the biggest problems and make ETH the currency of the internet.

Whether this will be bullish for ETH in the long-term remains to be seen. However, it was not clear how the new outfit would address pertinent issues like ETH inflation. 

That said, the Ethereum Foundation hailed the move, noting that ETH Labs is one of the many organizations aiming to advance the network. It added, 

The privilege of stewarding Ethereum must not be hoarded, but carefully shared with others committed to building the infrastructure of self-sovereignty.

The EF plans to reduce its mandate over the next 5–10 years, leaving room for new organizations to step up.  That said, the ETH price remained unchanged and struggled below $1700, as of writing. 

Final Summary

• Bitmine-backed ETH Labs has been unveiled to handle some of the Ethereum Foundation’s roles. 
• EF is set to reduce its mandate in the next 10 years, effectively cutting funding and talent in the past few years.