Vitalik Buterin says Ethereum Foundation will cut budget 40% in major reset

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) will slash its budget by roughly 40% this year as part of a shift toward a leaner, endowment-style operating model, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said in a blog post published Tuesday.

The reduction comes on the same day the EF confirmed a 20% reduction in headcount and follows the resignation of co-Executive Director Hsiao-Wei Wang. Her departure brings the total number of senior Ethereum Foundation figures to leave since January to nine, underscoring the scale of the organization’s ongoing turmoil.

Buterin said the spending cuts are aimed at transitioning the foundation from spending around 15% of its remaining treasury annually before 2026 to a long-term target of roughly 5% per year after 2030.

“I respect my EF colleagues far too much to pretend that there was not much that is lost,” Buterin wrote, acknowledging that the cuts involve “difficult decisions” and the departure of experienced engineers who have worked on Ethereum for years.