Former Ethereum Foundation researcher Dankrad Feist has proposed creating a new organization to help "save" ETH, requiring minimum funding of $1 billion and competent leadership. According to reports from The Block, Feist stated on social media that "The community needs to create an organization that's economically aligned with Ethereum and accountable to it." The proposed organization would be run by a board held more accountable and tasked with making ETH's price rise, while being funded in part by staking revenue. As reported by GNcrypto, Feist posted the detailed proposal on May 19, 2026, outlining specific requirements including "a minimum of $1 billion in ETH funding," a revenue stream composed of staking and fee income, and a board "who want ETH to go up." The entity would operate outside the EF's constraints and focus explicitly on improving Ethereum's competitive market position.
The Ethereum Foundation is experiencing a wave of senior departures, with at least eight senior members leaving in 2026, including five in May alone. Among the departures are Carl Beekhuizen and Tim Beiko, both prominent figures in Ethereum's technical infrastructure. The Ethereum Foundation currently serves as a non-profit stewarding the development of the world's second-largest blockchain, but holds less than 0.1% of all ETH and receives no flow of Ethereum staking or fee revenues. The foundation published a new mandate in March 2026 stating "Our bottom line is not profit, nor organizational growth, nor blind adoption at all costs," and emphasizing "We are NOT a marketing agency…. We are NOT a casino…. We are NOT opportunists." The 2024 Dencun upgrade altered fee dynamics for layer 2 networks, reducing revenue flowing back to Ethereum's base layer and contributing to ETH's underperformance versus Bitcoin and Solana.
The proposal comes amid challenging market conditions for ETH, with ETH trading around $2,100 and carrying a market cap of roughly $258 billion while Bitcoin and Solana outperform it. The cryptocurrency's market capitalization exceeds $250 billion, with the current trading price reflecting the broader market sentiment. Feist described the new entity as a way to align funding and incentives with the asset's economic outcome, noting the need for "a leader who is competent and wants to fight." The staking revenue model means the organization would earn returns proportional to its ETH holdings, aligning its income with its mission in a way the EF's structure never did. Implementing such an organization would require community approval, technical changes to route staking or fee-derived revenue to a separate entity, and legal and governance arrangements to define accountability and operations.
Ryan Sean Adams, a well-known Ethereum investor and advocate, has publicly backed the concept, arguing that the future of Ethereum cannot depend solely on the Ethereum Foundation. The most likely path to sourcing initial capital involves contributions from large ETH holders, ecosystem projects, and potentially venture capital. However, the risk exists of fragmentation, adding another well-funded entity with different mandates could create competing power centers. Protocol purists at the EF might resist changes that a price-focused organization demands, and developers could find themselves caught between two patrons with incompatible priorities. The community is now evaluating governance mechanisms for the formal presentation of this new economic proposal in upcoming technical discussion forums.
