The Ethereum ecosystem faces a funding crisis, with a proposal to tax stakers sparking fierce controversy; a new funding organization, EthLabs, breaks the deadlock

On June 24, according to Cointelegraph, the Ethereum ecosystem has recently been embroiled in intense governance debates over funding sources, mainly centered around how to raise core development funds.
Previously, former contributor to the Ethereum Foundation, Trenton Van Epps, issued a warning that as the original ecosystem support policies expire and the foundation continues to cut expenses, Ethereum’s core development ecosystem may face a sustained funding crisis within 3 to 9 months.
It is estimated that Ethereum needs approximately $30 million annually to maintain the normal operation of over ten client, research, and ecosystem coordination teams; the current funding system can no longer support these expenses.
To address the ecosystem’s funding gap, Clément Lesaege, co-founder of Kleros, proposed the controversial “Validator Redirected Income” proposal, suggesting that 0% to 10% of validator staking rewards be transferred to the ecosystem fund pool for ecosystem development.
Based on the current total staked amount across the network, this mechanism could raise 50k to 70k ETH annually for the Ethereum ecosystem, providing a potential solution to ease development funding pressure.
However, the proposal has faced widespread industry opposition, with market criticism arguing that this mechanism would entrench the influence of large validators, blur the boundaries between node operation and community governance, and pose obvious governance risks.
Meanwhile, there are differing opinions within the community; some believe that the Ethereum Foundation’s reserves are sufficient to support ecosystem operations for up to 30 years, and the so-called funding crisis is unfounded.
In response to the funding disputes and industry disagreements, the Ethereum ecosystem has introduced a new breakthrough plan. This Monday, EthLabs, a non-profit research and development organization initiated by five former Ethereum Foundation researchers, was officially established, relying on funding support from major ETH holders in the ecosystem to directly finance Ethereum ecosystem development, providing a new funding channel for ecosystem growth.
At the same time, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin confirmed on Tuesday that the foundation is implementing a fiscal contraction policy, with an overall budget reduction of about 40%, and has completed layoffs of 54 employees, continuously tightening expenses and promoting a diversified ecosystem financing model. #以太坊生态治理