Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said he has earmarked $45 million worth of ETH to support privacy-preserving and open technologies, as the Ethereum Foundation (EF) prepares for a period of “mild austerity” while maintaining its core technical roadmap.
Buterin’s funding focus
Buterin said the allocation is intended to advance privacy and open-source initiatives across the Ethereum ecosystem and broader public-interest technology. The emphasis on privacy tech aligns with ongoing efforts in the ecosystem to improve user security, data protection, and censorship resistance.
Ethereum Foundation enters “mild austerity”
According to Buterin, the EF will operate under tighter budget conditions but continue to fund and execute on its primary technical goals. He emphasized that the organization will stay the course on its core roadmap, prioritizing protocol development and long-term research critical to Ethereum’s scalability and security.
Why it matters
The move underscores a strategy to sustain key public goods and privacy research even as the EF moderates spending. Continued support for open technologies and protocol work is likely to influence the pace of improvements across the Ethereum network and its developer ecosystem.