Joe Lubin Rejects Crisis at Ethereum Foundation

Co-founder of Ethereum and head of Consensys Joe Lubin stated in a CoinDesk interview on June 7, 2026, that budget cuts, staff departures, and restructuring at the Ethereum Foundation do not indicate a crisis but reflect the organization’s narrowing focus to core technology and network values.

Lubin called the criticism of the Ethereum Foundation a result of a misunderstanding of the foundation’s role. In his opinion, the organization should maintain neutrality toward the ecosystem and not combine protocol development with commercial objectives.

Mass adoption, working with institutional players, and developing specific areas, he said, should be handled by other organizations. The Ethereum Foundation, as Lubin believes, should focus on core technology and key principles of the network. He also noted that he does not hold a position within the foundation.

Lubin rejected the thesis of Ethereum’s decline. He linked a new wave of growth to autonomous AI agents that will conduct on-chain transactions, as well as to the expansion of institutional use of the infrastructure.

The controversy was sparked by budget cuts, staff departures, and personnel changes at the Ethereum Foundation. CoinDesk reports that critics question the organization’s response speed to competitive pressure and its influence on Ethereum’s market position. According to Etherscan, the network processes about 2 million transactions per day.