Ethereum Foundation Under Fire for How They Spent Their 2023 Budget

• Ethereum Foundation’s 2023 budget saw 36.5% spent on “new institutions,” highlighting a focus on expanding the ecosystem.
• 24.9% of spending went to Layer-1 R&D, including key projects like Go-Ethereum and Solidity, emphasizing core infrastructure support.
• DeFi developer Kain Warwick criticized the foundation’s budget allocation, claiming it’s “anti-DeFi” and misuses funds.

Co-founder Vitalik Buterin and spokesperson Josh Stark publicly commented on social media, that the Ethereum Foundation posted its budget for 2023. The foundation released its full report of financial operations. Most of all, it was an investment in “new institutions” that took 36.5% of the foundation’s budget: costs for investments in new organizations aimed at enhancing the Ethereum ecosystem.

Major Spending Areas and Their Impact

Layer-1 (L1) research and development represented another major spending area, capturing 24.9% of the budget. Stark emphasized that these expenses included grants to external teams and internal projects. For example, key Ethereum clients like Go-Ethereum (Geth) received grants. 

Additionally, funds were allocated to Solidity R&D, Devcon, and Ethereum’s Robust Incentives Group. This underscores the foundation’s commitment to maintaining a robust and innovative core infrastructure.

Moreover, the foundation allocated 12.7% of its budget to community development. This highlights their focus on fostering a vibrant and engaged Ethereum community. Meanwhile, applied zero-knowledge work received 10.4% of the budget. The remaining 15.5% was divided among internal operations, layer-2 research, and the developer platform.

Community Reaction and Defense

However, this spending breakdown did not sit well with everyone. Prominent DeFi developer Kain Warwick charged that Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation were “anti-DeFi.” He took issue with them for allocating a meager portion of their funds to the development of decentralized finance. According to Warwick, the organization spends much of its money on “nonsense” initiatives.

Buterin defended the foundation’s approach, emphasizing his support for sustainable projects. He clarified that he remains committed to decentralized finance but is cautious about investing in short-term or unsustainable ventures. Specifically, he pointed out his disinterest in liquidity farming and projects that rely on issuing new tokens and then dumping them on the market.

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Additionally, the foundation continues to focus on education and outreach. The Ethereum Foundation, in collaboration with ETH Kipu, hosted a workshop in Buenos Aires to teach high school students about blockchain technology. 

ETH Kipu also announced initiatives for blockchain internships and an online course on Solidity, Ethereum’s smart contract programming language. These efforts demonstrate the foundation’s broader commitment to growing the Ethereum ecosystem sustainably.