A group of former Ethereum Foundation researchers has launched a new nonprofit research hub, Ethlabs, focused on Ethereum’s core protocol. The founders include Ansgar Dietrichs, Barnabé Monnot, Caspar Schwarz-Schilling, Josh Rudolf, and Julian Ma, who all worked on major upgrades over the past decade. They say Ethlabs will operate independently from the Foundation and set its own research roadmap.
According to launch materials, Ethlabs will study settlement efficiency, scalability, cross-chain interoperability, data availability, and protocol economics. The team wants to keep Ethereum attractive to both DeFi builders and large financial institutions as usage grows. They also plan to publish regular public reports so that the wider community can follow their work.
Major ETH Treasuries and Joe Lubin Back the Effort
Some of the largest corporate holders of ether are funding the new lab as part of a broader push to professionalize Ethereum research. The initial backers include Bitmine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink, both of which control large ETH treasuries, as well as Ethereum co-founder and ConsenSys CEO Joe Lubin. Other supporters named in announcements include Anchorage Digital, Octant, and SNZ.
Bitmine and SharpLink see Ethlabs as a way to channel more capital into protocol-level work that can support stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets on Ethereum. They argue that the ecosystem needs more specialized talent to handle rising institutional demand. Ethlabs will distribute funds through third-party-managed grants, which the group says will help prevent corporate backers from steering the technical agenda.
The launch comes during a period of leadership change and debate at the Ethereum Foundation, where several senior figures have stepped down this year. Observers see Ethlabs as part of a shift toward a “multiple steward nodes” model, in which several independent groups share responsibility for guiding Ethereum’s development. Supporters say this structure can spread power more evenly and protect the network’s neutrality over time.
Joe Lubin has framed the move as a way to strengthen Ethereum’s decentralization while still giving large users a credible place to support research. Ethlabs plans to focus first on privacy, trustworthy interoperability, and neutrality, which it says are essential for banks and other big institutions that want to bring more activity on-chain. The organization has also committed to annual audits and quarterly progress reports so the community can hold it accountable.
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