Buterin Says Ethereum Foundation Will Shrink and Sell Less ETH
Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin published a statement on May 25 outlining sweeping changes to the Ethereum Foundation, saying the organization will shrink in size, reduce its ETH sales, and expand its board to distribute governance authority. Buterin said his personal influence within the foundation will decrease as the board grows.
He framed the EF as “one node, with a defined purpose,” not the center of the Ethereum ecosystem.
What Buterin Said
The statement, reported by CoinDesk on May 25, addresses a prolonged period of community frustration over the foundation’s spending, ETH liquidations, and perceived insularity. Buterin said the EF would focus narrowly on core protocol research and development rather than broader ecosystem coordination.
The board expansion is intended to prevent any single figure, including Buterin himself, from exerting unchecked influence over the organization’s direction. The commitment to sell less ETH is significant.
The foundation has historically funded operations by converting ETH holdings into fiat, a practice criticized by holders who argue it creates persistent sell pressure on the open market. Ethereum (ETH) traded near $2,125 on May 25, up roughly 1.5% in 24 hours, according to CoinGecko market data.
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Background
Community pressure on the Ethereum Foundation has built across much of 2025 and into 2026. Critics pointed to a pattern of large ETH sales at inopportune moments, a lack of transparency on treasury management, and slow communication from foundation leadership during periods of network controversy.
The foundation’s budget allocation toward non-core initiatives drew particular scrutiny. Buterin had remained largely silent on these governance criticisms before the May 25 statement.
His framing of the EF as a single node in a broader decentralized ecosystem is a deliberate rebuttal to narratives that portrayed the organization as a de facto central authority over Ethereum’s direction.
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What Comes Next
The board expansion timeline and the specific parameters for reduced ETH sales were not detailed in the May 25 statement, leaving key questions open for the community. Watchers will focus on whether the EF discloses a formal treasury policy and how quickly new board seats are filled.
A more constrained ETH selling schedule could reduce structural selling pressure over the medium term, though the scale of any impact depends on how aggressively the foundation previously monetized its holdings. Governance skeptics will also watch whether Buterin’s reduced formal role translates to less informal influence in practice.
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