The Ethereum Foundation (EF) contributor Josh Stark recently shared a breakdown of the organization’s expenditures over the past two years on social media, amidst speculation about potential large Ethereum sales. Stark also hinted at the publication of an expenditure report before this year’s Devcon on Nov. 12.
The funding breakdown shared by Stark included two pie charts showing the allocation of funds for 2022 and 2023 in various areas such as research and development (R&D), community development, and internal operations. Research and development of Layer 1 improvements and new institutions received the highest funding in both years, with internal and external spending split at 38% and 62%, respectively.
The internal spending is related to teams working under the EF umbrella in various sectors, while external spending is associated with grants provided by the foundation’s Ecosystem Support Program (ESP). Between 2022 and 2023, the ESP provided $91.1 million in grants to 895 different projects, with quarterly reports published on the grants allocated.
Stark highlighted the foundation’s efforts to support new institutions that can strengthen and support the Ethereum ecosystem in the long run, mentioning entities like the Nomic Foundation, the Decentralization Research Centre, and L2Beat among others. Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin emphasized the importance of investments into new institutions, noting the absence of “World Economic Forum insect protein research” in the foundation’s funding allocation.
The breakdown comes after a large 35,000 ETH transfer from EF’s wallet to the crypto exchange Kraken on Aug. 23, totaling $94 million at current prices. The significant transaction sparked debates in the crypto community about where the funds would be allocated, with concerns about a potential market dump affecting ETH’s recent price decline of 22% over the past 30 days.
After suggestions to divide future large transactions into smaller movements to avoid market volatility, Buterin mentioned logistical challenges associated with coordinating multiple transfers from a multi-sig wallet. While there are solutions available, the sensitive nature of security considerations requires careful planning before implementing any changes.
