Ethereum Foundation

A non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the development and ecosystem of the Ethereum blockchain without controlling it.

What is Ethereum Foundation?

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) is a Swiss-based non-profit founded in 2014 for Ethereum, the decentralized blockchain platform launched in 2015. It allocates resources to critical projects, funds research, and advocates for Ethereum’s long-term success, but does not control the network—development is driven by a global ecosystem of contributors.

Key initiatives include funding protocol upgrades like the Pectra hard fork (expected mid-2025), supporting client diversity to enhance decentralization, and backing tools like Geth (Go implementation) and Swarm (decentralized storage).

The EF has evolved into a learning organization adapting to Ethereum’s growth, with a focus on scalability, security, and inclusivity. Historically, the EF emerged from Ethereum’s early days, formalized after Vitalik Buterin’s 2013 whitepaper and a 2014 crowdsale raising funds in Bitcoin. It coordinated the 2015 mainnet launch and has since supported upgrades like the 2022 Merge to proof-of-stake.

The EF also funds ecosystem grants, such as those for privacy tools and Layer 2 solutions, and maintains neutrality by not favoring specific implementations.