Joe Lubin, CEO of Consensys and an Ethereum co-founder, told CoinDesk that recent budget cuts, staff departures, and leadership changes at the Ethereum Foundation (EF) are a necessary evolution, not a crisis. Lubin, who holds no role at the EF, argued that the foundation's role should be narrower, focusing solely on stewarding Ethereum's core technology and values, while other organizations handle adoption, institutional engagement, and ecosystem growth. He emphasized the need for credible neutrality to avoid conflicts of interest between business and protocol development. Lubin dismissed claims of Ethereum's decline, highlighting its 2 million daily transactions and emerging use cases like autonomous AI agents and institutional adoption. He predicted that multiple organizations, rather than a single entity, will shape Ethereum's future, contrasting with other blockchains that consolidate functions. The comments follow weeks of criticism over the EF's direction, with Lubin framing the restructuring as a cleanup to separate protocol stewardship from commercialization.

Key facts

• Lubin says EF budget cuts and departures are a necessary evolution, not a crisis.
• EF should focus solely on core technology and values, not commercialization.
• Ethereum handles ~2M daily transactions; not in decline, says Lubin.
• Emerging use cases include autonomous AI agents and institutional adoption.
• Multiple organizations will steward Ethereum's future, not a single entity.

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