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5 Former Ethereum Foundation Members Found Ethlabs

Five former senior researchers of the Ethereum Foundation (EF), namely Ansgar Dietrichs, Barnabé Monnot, Caspar Schwarz-Schilling, Josh Rudolf, and Julian Ma, officially launched Ethlabs on Monday (6/22). This independent non-profit research and development (R&D) laboratory was established amid the trend of key talent leaving EF throughout 2026. To support its operations, the project received funding from Bitmine, Sharplink, and Consensys founder Joe Lubin.
Ethlabs advocates the thesis that Ethereum will become the universal settlement layer for the global economy. This organization functions as a bridge to translate the needs of developers in DeFi platforms, Layer 2 solutions, and crypto wallets into a standardized protocol at the core level. The founders have long-standing track records in the industry; Dietrichs and Monnot are figures behind Ethereum research related to proposer-builder separation and MEV governance.
The launch of Ethlabs coincided with the release of a new framework from EF Chief Strategy Advisor Aerugo regarding funding criteria for external organizations (spinouts) of the foundation. Ethlabs stated that they operate independently as one of the key nodes driving the Ethereum ecosystem. In addition to major funding supporters, the project also received backing from industry figures such as Hayden Adams (Uniswap) and Jesse Pollak (Base).