Vitalik Backs EF Layoffs, Citing Promising Transition Vitalik Buterin (@VitalikButerin) announced that the Ethereum Foundation (@ethereumfndn) is reducing its budget by roughly 40% this year. The move follows last year’s Treasury Management Policy, shifting the EF from spending about 15% of its funds annually to a long-term endowment model targeting just 5% per year after 2030. He openly acknowledged the human cost, praising the brilliant, dedicated engineers, some with nearly a decade of protocol work, who are leaving. Rather than claiming painless efficiency gains, Vitalik detailed deliberate strategic sacrifices to sustain ambitious progress. In the meantime, the EF will continue the Ethereum Strawmap, its third major iteration covering consensus, proofs, privacy, and more, while expanding its Access Layer role.