Former Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist is calling for the creation of a new Ethereum advocacy organization with a $1 billion funding target, intensifying a growing debate over how the network should be governed and funded.
Feist said the proposed group should be “economically aligned” with Ethereum’s long-term value and backed by staking revenue, in contrast to the current Ethereum Foundation, which he noted now controls less than 0.1% of total ETH supply and no longer earns income from staking rewards or transaction fees.
The push adds a fresh layer of uncertainty to the project’s future development path and highlights a widening philosophical split over how to steward a blockchain with a market capitalization of more than $250 billion and a price around $2,148.56.
Foundation under scrutiny as staff departures mount
The proposal comes as the Ethereum Foundation faces ongoing leadership churn and internal restructuring. At least eight staff members have left this year, including researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma, who resigned this week.
Feist himself departed the foundation last year and joined alternative Layer 1 network Tempo. Another former researcher, Danny Ryan, later co-founded Etherealize, a marketing venture focused on Ethereum. The steady outflow of senior talent has raised questions about the foundation’s strategy and its ability to coordinate future upgrades.
Despite these departures, the foundation remains the primary non-profit steward of Ethereum, overseeing core protocol research and development for the second-largest blockchain network by market size.
A new model tied to staking revenue
Feist’s proposal centers on tying the new advocacy body’s budget to staking rewards, directly linking its resources to the network’s economic performance. Roughly 31% of all ETH is currently staked, with more than 38.9 million ETH locked and an estimated staking reward rate of 1.82%. At current prices, that represents a staking market cap of about $83.5 billion.
Supporters argue that using staking revenue could create a feedback loop in which Ethereum’s economic success funds research, advocacy, and promotion, potentially making the network more competitive. This would stand in sharp contrast to the Ethereum Foundation’s endowment-based model, which is not explicitly designed to pursue price appreciation.
Debate over governance, value, and funding
The call for a more price-focused institution comes as the Ethereum community seeks clearer governance structures following leadership changes and staff turnover. The discussion is moving beyond theory, touching on who controls capital, how it is allocated, and what the network’s strategic priorities should be.
The timing is notable: average transaction fees have been low, recently around $0.2128. While this benefits users and can support broader adoption, it also limits revenue from transaction fees, adding pressure to find sustainable ways to fund core development and marketing.
Market reaction and metrics to watch
Traders and other market participants are closely tracking how this governance debate may influence developer sentiment and the pace of upcoming upgrades. Metrics such as net staking inflows and outflows are being watched for signs that capital allocators are reacting to the proposed shift in influence away from the current foundation structure.
How major staking entities respond in the coming weeks could signal whether support is building for a parallel, well-funded organization, or whether the community prefers to maintain the existing concentration of authority.
Feist’s track record and influence
Before leaving the foundation, Feist worked on key scalability efforts, including Danksharding, and advised on Layer 1 scaling and user experience initiatives. He also authored EIP-9698, a proposal that aimed to raise Ethereum’s gas limit by up to 100 times, underscoring his focus on throughput and network efficiency.
His prominence in core research circles gives added weight to his latest proposal, and other community figures have already endorsed the idea, arguing the foundation is not structured to aggressively advocate for ETH’s value.
Next steps for the Ethereum Foundation
Attention is now turning to whether the Ethereum Foundation will issue a formal response and how prominent developers and ecosystem leaders will position themselves. Any endorsement or rejection from key figures could shape whether the proposed advocacy group emerges as a complementary body or as a rival center of influence.
For now, the debate underscores a central question for Ethereum’s next phase: should the network’s primary institutions remain neutral stewards of protocol development, or evolve into explicitly value-driven entities tied to the economic interests of those who stake and hold ETH?
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