Former Ethereum Foundation engineer Trent Van Epps warned that core development funding could be depleted within 3–9 months, risking continuity of key projects.

Funding needs and recent changes

Van Epps estimated that sustaining client teams, research efforts and essential protocol infrastructure requires about $30 mln per year, according to his public statements.

He also noted that the Ethereum Foundation has reduced spending and that the program financing client teams ended in April 2026 without an announced replacement, creating an immediate gap in predictable support.

Operational risk for the protocol

Van Epps emphasised the issue is not an acute outage of the Ethereum network today but rather a gradual erosion of experienced personnel and institutional knowledge.

Loss of contributors and research capacity could slow protocol development, client maintenance and security reviews, increasing long‑term operational risk for the ecosystem.

Community and continuity

Maintaining multiple client implementations and continued research depends on sustained funding streams and coordination between foundations, teams and contributors.

Van Epps called attention to the timing and scale of the shortfall, urging stakeholders to consider mechanisms to fill the financing gap to preserve institutional expertise.