The Ethereum Foundation has donated $30,000 to an Internet Freedom quadratic funding round, backing privacy, anti-censorship, and secure journalism projects. The funds flowed through a matching pool to 10 organizations, led by The Tor Project and Funding the Commons. The round ended on July 21.
Internet Freedom Boost: Tor and Privacy Tools Get Matching Funds
This donation came from the Foundation's Ecosystem Support Program (ESP), which typically issues $30,000 grants to early-stage, open-source, and community projects. The program has previously funded small grants, translation efforts, and key software dependencies. The foundation says the goal is to support an open and free internet.
The 10 recipient organizations all focus on privacy tools and anti-censorship infrastructure, echoing Ethereum's decentralization ethos. Similar prior grants included experimental on-chain projects, global documentation translation prizes, and Ethereum-related infrastructure initiatives.
Core Dev Funding Warning: $30M Annual Shortfall Estimated
But the donation comes amid rising concerns over Ethereum's development financing. Former Ethereum Foundation contributor Trenton Van Epps warned that new funding sources may become necessary within three to nine months. After discussions with core contributors, he estimates an annual funding shortfall of roughly $30 million for core development — a figure not independently verified.
Van Epps also cited recent spending cuts and the termination of the Client Incentive Program in April. That program rewarded teams building Ethereum client software. Those moves have stoked anxiety about the network's ongoing development.
Leadership Exodus and Treasury Moves: 19 Role Changes, Major ETH Unstaking
Leadership changes at the Foundation have been extensive. Co-executive director Hsiao Wei Wang resigned on July 18. This year's total role changes at the Foundation now reach an estimated 19.
Treasury management has also shifted. In late April and early May 2025, the Foundation unstaked 17,000 ETH and then 21,270 ETH — the second withdrawal worth about $50 million at the time. On May 1, it sold 10,000 ETH via an over-the-counter deal to Bitmine. Arkham data suggests the unstaking may have funded protocol development.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin posted on X in May that the Foundation holds roughly 0.16% of total Ether supply and was designed with a narrow role focused on core software and roadmap milestones. A new Foundation policy effective June 2025 allows staking to finance development while limiting future ETH sales, responding to past community backlash.