Show notes
• The Ethereum Foundation just cut 20% of its staff and 40% of its budget. Two co-executive directors are gone. And the talent exodus has been quiet but real.
But the community didn't wait. In a matter of weeks, 50 institutions and Ethereum leaders came together to form ETH Labs — a new organization backed by Sharp Link, Joe Lubin, and Bitmain, with a mandate to build what the Foundation decided it no longer wants to. Is this a rescue? A power grab? Or the most important moment in Ethereum's 11-year history?
Last week on The Defiant, I sat down with Josef Chalom (Sharp Link, the second-largest public ETH holder) and Viktor Bunin (Coinbase) to get into all of it: the funding structure, the credible neutrality question, the ETH asset vs. protocol tension, and what's actually coming in the Glastonbury upgrade — including a technical shift that could finally make Ethereum feel good to use.
Guests: Josef Chalom, CEO of Sharp Link | Viktor Bunin, Coinbase
Topics: Ethereum Foundation, ETH Labs, protocol governance, institutional adoption, Glastonbury upgrade
Website: podcasters.spotify.com
