The technical breakthroughs and organizational evolution of Ethereum seen through The Merge

From the interview with Hsiao-Wei, the co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, by ETHPanda, we can extract several key highlights of Ethereum's current development.

1. On a technical level, The Merge successfully achieved the transition from PoW to PoS, described as "changing engines mid-flight," showcasing Ethereum's ability to complete core architecture upgrades without downtime. It is worth noting that she emphasized that The Merge's greatest challenge lies not in the technology itself, but in the "integration of people"—coordinating various developers, clients, and stakeholders;

2. In terms of organizational structure, EF is undergoing significant functional differentiation and specialization. EF has been internally reorganized into three major business groups, while specific functions are separated to external organizations such as Etherealize, which focuses on handling connections with traditional finance and Wall Street. This division of labor reflects the Ethereum ecosystem's gradual shift towards a decentralized governance model;

3. In terms of funding strategy, EF is no longer limited to simple ETH sales, but is actively exploring diversified management methods such as DeFi lending, staking, and asset tokenization, demonstrating a more mature financial mindset. It is worth noting that Hsiao-Wei pointed out that EF's coin sales are a last resort—the foundation has two to three hundred people, and about 75% of expenses need to be paid in fiat currency. This practical need explains why "coin sales" are necessary even during less favorable market conditions.

I think what is most thought-provoking is Hsiao-Wei's candid attitude towards the responsibilities of the Ethereum Foundation. She stated: "If an organization emerges in the community that can replace the role of the EF, the foundation may shrink in scale"—this essentially means that the EF does not seek a permanent central position but is willing to relinquish power when the time is right. This proactive contemplation of self-boundaries and the idea of gradually fading away stands in stark contrast to the practice of other blockchain project founding teams that continuously expand their power boundaries. Furthermore, in terms of future application trends, Hsiao-Wei particularly mentioned several directions worth noting. She pointed out that Identity(, Social) design, and mini-program ecosystems are innovative directions with potential, aligning with the current trend of Web3 penetrating everyday applications.