New Organization Aims to Fill Gaps Left by Ethereum Foundation, Says Zak Cole
The crypto world is buzzing after Zak Cole, a key Ethereum developer, unveiled the Ethereum Community Foundation (ECF) during the EthCC conference. ECF, dubbed by many as a “rival to the Ethereum Foundation”, promises to do what the original foundation “can’t or won’t” — and one of its boldest missions? Driving the price of ETH to $10,000.
Let’s break down what this means for Ethereum, crypto investors, and the future of decentralized finance.
Why Was Ethereum Community Foundation Created?
According to Cole, Ethereum has evolved into the backbone of DeFi and stablecoins, and it’s time to embrace this role more deliberately. He criticized the Ethereum Foundation for straying from strategic, economic, and cultural goals that once fueled the project’s momentum.
“The Ethereum Foundation brought us to this point,” he noted. “But now it’s out of alignment with what Ethereum needs to scale — especially as an asset.”
ECF’s Core Mission: Infrastructure, Transparency, and ETH Value
Cole’s Ethereum Community Foundation has a crystal-clear agenda: fund projects that strengthen Ethereum’s infrastructure and contribute to price appreciation of its native token. Unlike other foundations that shy away from direct economic goals, ECF is unapologetically price-conscious.
The foundation’s grant recipients must:
- Build on Ethereum’s Layer 1 (not sidechains)
- Support burn mechanisms that reduce ETH supply
- Create public goods for the network
- Avoid launching their own tokens
Projects like Ethereum Validator Association, which represents validator interests and promotes key Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), are already receiving support.
Buterin’s Vision: Crypto Should Liberate, Not Complicate
Meanwhile, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin shared a more philosophical perspective. He emphasized that blockchain should empower humanity, not become another tech silo.
“Ask yourself: does what you’re building give people more freedom?” Buterin said. He urged developers to shift focus from hyper-technical progress to real-world impact.
This message resonates in a time when blockchain risks drifting into the same corporate traps that Web 2.0 fell into. Buterin likened today’s crypto landscape to the early internet of the 1990s — a tool of individual empowerment, now threatened by centralization.
What Makes ECF Different?
Unlike venture-funded protocols that often issue their own tokens, ECF prefers tokenless, open-structure protocols. According to the ECF website: “We are a price-oriented institution supporting ETH as an institutional-grade asset.”
By emphasizing grants, public goods, and ETH price alignment, the foundation aims to bring financial structure to Ethereum’s development without sacrificing decentralization.
Cole also pointed out that Ethereum Name Service, Uniswap, and Optimism all received Ethereum Foundation support — only to later issue tokens and align with VC interests. ECF’s strict no-token policy is a course correction for that trend.
Conclusion: Two Paths for Ethereum’s Future?
The creation of the Ethereum Community Foundation signals a fundamental debate within the Ethereum ecosystem — one of idealism vs. pragmatism. On one side, you have Buterin’s humanist vision for crypto as a force for freedom. On the other, Cole’s strategic focus on market mechanics, ETH value, and network resilience.
If both paths can coexist, Ethereum may grow not just as a technology, but as a monetary system and social movement.
