The Ethereum Foundation has cut approximately 20% of its workforce and plans to reduce its annual budget by 40%. Several new organisations will now share responsibility for developing key segments of the blockchain alongside the Ethereum community. The foundation will focus on network security whilst newly formed entities handle commercial development and other functions. These include Ethereum Institutional, which helps financial institutions build stablecoin integrations; EthSystems, focused on privacy technologies for institutions; and Ethlabs, which addresses scalability and interoperability. The restructuring aims to decentralise the Ethereum ecosystem. Proponents argue this makes the network more resilient by eliminating single points of failure and strengthening resistance to censorship. Ethereum has operated without downtime for over a decade. The changes position the foundation as one node amongst many rather than a central authority governing the world's second-largest cryptocurrency.

The Ethereum Foundation has completed a five-year funding agreement with Argot Collective, an independent organisation maintaining critical Ethereum infrastructure including the Solidity programming language. Under the deal, approximately 4,938 stETH will be distributed through two contracts managed via a multi-signature wallet shared by Argot, the foundation and a newly created Fail-Safe Committee. Half the funds become available on 1 July 2026, with the remainder unlocking on 1 July 2027. The Fail-Safe Committee will provide independent oversight and mediation under the governance framework. Launched in late 2024, Argot is a non-profit research and development collective established to provide neutral stewardship for Ethereum's core software infrastructure, including smart contract verification, debugging tools and language research.

The Ethereum Foundation has cut approximately 20% of its staff, affecting 54 employees, as it aims to become "leaner and more focused". The move comes amid a broader restructuring that includes a 40% budget reduction this year. The Foundation has seen several high-profile departures recently, including co-executive directors and protocol leads. Co-founder Vitalik Buterin revealed the organisation is transitioning to an endowment-based model, reducing annual spending from 15% to 5% of remaining funds after 2030. Coinciding with the announcement, a mysterious trader opened a three-times leveraged short position worth over $83 million on Ethereum via decentralised exchange Hyperliquid. The trader, identified only by wallet address, was sitting on $3.67 million in unrealised profit. Ethereum has fallen over 40% this year, trading at $1,659.40.