Trent Van Epps, a former Ethereum Foundation contributor who spent five years coordinating core protocol development, warned that Ethereum's core development could face a funding crisis within three to nine months as the Client Incentive Program expired in April 2026 without a successor. Van Epps stated the crisis stems from the simultaneous contraction of two funding streams: the lapsed four-year client funding program and the Ethereum Foundation's treasury plan announced in June 2025, which charts a reduction in annual spending from 15% toward a 5% endowment baseline by 2030. Sustaining Ethereum's network of more than ten client teams, researchers, and coordination groups costs roughly $30 million annually, according to Van Epps, who argued that the sources covering that figure are tightening with no replacement mechanism announced. The warning coincided with the resignation of Hsiao-Wei Wang as co-executive director and board member, marking the second co-executive director departure in four months.
Client Incentive Program Expired in April 2026 Without Successor
The Client Incentive Program, a four-year effort that funded client teams through staking rewards, expired in April 2026 without a successor, according to Van Epps. He estimated the combined effect of the program's expiration and the foundation's treasury adjustments could open a "slow-burning funding crisis" within three to nine months. Van Epps framed the gap not as a one-time episode but as a symptom of structural problems in how the ecosystem gathers and allocates funding.
Ethereum Foundation Treasury Plan Reduces Annual Spending
The Ethereum Foundation began executing a treasury plan announced in June 2025 that charts a glide path from 15% annual spending toward a 5% endowment baseline by 2030. Van Epps noted that "the ongoing execution of this plan will continue to have ripple effects throughout the ecosystem." The foundation has reworked how it manages reserves under the plan, converting ETH into stablecoins for predictable operational funding and deploying up to 70,000 ETH into staking to generate sustainable yield.
Foundation's "Subtraction" Philosophy and Leadership Turnover
Van Epps tied the funding question to the foundation's "Subtraction" philosophy, its stated effort to reduce its relative influence over Ethereum so the ecosystem can outgrow and outlast it. He wrote that the policy has communicated the foundation's intent not to act as the sole center of power, while leaving gaps that no other institution has stepped in to fill. That retreat has coincided with steep leadership turnover, including the departure of co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak earlier this year. Van Epps pointed to co-founder Vitalik Buterin's own framing that the foundation "was not designed to be an eternal steward," having completed the limited work scope set out in Ethereum's token sale documents by 2022.
Hsiao-Wei Wang Resigns as Co-Executive Director
The warning landed the same week the foundation absorbed another leadership change, as Hsiao-Wei Wang resigned as co-executive director and board member, the second co-executive director to leave in four months. Van Epps warned that without continuous funding, Ethereum risks losing contributors who hold years of accumulated context, falling behind on challenges such as quantum computing and scaling, and eventually undermining mainnet's reputation for reliability. He stated the damage would prove far harder and costlier to reverse once its symptoms surface in 12 to 18 months, and called for new funding mechanisms and a fresh set of contracts between ecosystem stakeholders before protocol maintenance becomes an "unfunded mandate."
FAQ
What did Trent Van Epps warn about Ethereum's core development funding?
Trent Van Epps warned that Ethereum's core development could face a funding crisis within three to nine months as the Client Incentive Program expired in April 2026 without a successor and the Ethereum Foundation executes a treasury plan that reduces annual spending from 15% toward a 5% baseline by 2030. He stated that sustaining Ethereum's network of more than ten client teams, researchers, and coordination groups costs roughly $30 million annually, and that the sources covering that figure are tightening with no replacement mechanism announced.
When did the Client Incentive Program expire and what was its purpose?
The Client Incentive Program expired in April 2026 without a successor, according to Van Epps. The program was a four-year effort that funded client teams through staking rewards. Van Epps estimated the combined effect of the program's expiration and the foundation's treasury adjustments could open a "slow-burning funding crisis" within three to nine months.
What leadership changes occurred at the Ethereum Foundation?
Hsiao-Wei Wang resigned as co-executive director and board member the same week Van Epps issued his funding warning, marking the second co-executive director to leave in four months. Co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak departed earlier this year. Van Epps noted that the leadership turnover has coincided with the foundation's "Subtraction" philosophy, its stated effort to reduce its relative influence over Ethereum.
