Buterin's Role in the EF is Expected to Diminish as the Board Grows; He Described the EF as "One Node, with a Defined Purpose," Rather than Ethereum's Core.
By Francisco Rodrigues|Edited by Aoyon Ashraf May 25, 2026, 3:51 p.m. 3 min readMake preferred onKey Points:
- Buterin indicated that the Ethereum Foundation will emphasize "longevity over breadth," limit ETH sales, and focus on CROPS (censorship resistance, openness, privacy, and security).
- His role within the EF is set to lessen as the board expands, framing the EF as "one node, with a defined purpose" instead of Ethereum's nucleus.
- He cautioned against prioritizing speed and throughput, stating that Ethereum must aim for excellence in the CROPS framework.
In a recent post, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin articulated that the Ethereum Foundation will prioritize "longevity over breadth," decrease its ETH sales, and concentrate on the CROPS framework: censorship resistance, openness, privacy, and security.
Buterin mentioned that the Ethereum Foundation currently controls approximately 0.16% of all ETH, significantly lower than the 10% to 50% typical for central foundations of other blockchain projects.
He revealed that nearly 90% of his personal wealth is held in ETH, with about $40 million in fiat already allocated for open-source biotech, software, and hardware projects.
As the board expands, Buterin's influence is expected to wane, aligning with his intention to reduce his sway within the organization. He clarified, "This is only my own view. The board is not just me, and I have no extra special powers on the board that the other board members do not."
He described the EF as "one node, with a defined purpose, alongside other nodes" and not the central element of Ethereum. Regarding the issue of throughput, Buterin warned against the pursuit of maximum speed.
“Striving for the highest speed and scalability, while being only slightly more decentralized than others, leads to mediocrity, and attempting this will result in failure.”
Instead, he emphasized the need for Ethereum to be “deeply impressive” in the CROPS areas, aiming for a system that is provably bug-free, a goal he believes is attainable with AI verification.
This announcement follows the departure of at least eight senior contributors from the Ethereum Foundation in 2026, including five in May, which has sparked renewed discussions about the foundation's future.
Community Response
Anthony Sassano, an Ethereum educator and investor, responded directly to Buterin's post, expressing gratitude. A subsequent tweet highlighted Buterin's view of ETH as the most valuable "product" of the Ethereum ecosystem.
William Mougayar, an author and early Ethereum advisor, quote-tweeted Buterin's message, stating, "Ethereum has effectively received its own Clarity Act over the weekend. It sends a clear message, and the path ahead is evident. Ethereum is untouchable."
Developer Suhail Kakar also replied directly, labeling the announcement as "bullish" and noting, "A foundation willingly reducing its own power is a rare phenomenon in crypto. This is genuinely the most cypherpunk sentiment I've encountered in a long time."
Conversely, some core developers scrutinized the CROPS framework.
Marius van der Wijden, a Go-Ethereum developer, pointed out that the security aspect is often overlooked: "When discussing CROPS, the focus tends to be on CR, OS, and Privacy, but security is paramount! Without a secure L1, none of this holds true, and we have come to take Ethereum's foundational security for granted."
Consensus layer developer Potuz chimed in, noting that "one of Ethereum's most significant advantages is its uninterrupted operation since genesis," and that this reliability has made every fork a concentrated risk.
Laura Shin, host of Unchained, raised governance questions that remain unanswered, such as, "What’s the process for adding new board members?" Buterin did not respond publicly at the time of writing. DeFiPrime founder Nick Sawinyh noted that the EF now appears "less like a cathedral and more like a protocol commons operator."
Others expressed concerns about Ethereum's performance, with Ether dropping nearly 60% against Bitcoin over the past five years, currently at 0.02738 BTC. During this same period, Bitcoin's price has nearly doubled, rising from $35,600 to $77,500 as of the current report.
Read more: Ethereum’s identity crisis is deepening after high-profile 'brain drain' frustrates the community
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