Ethereum Community Foundation Launches with Millions in ETH to Back Immutable, Tokenless Projects
A new player is stepping in to reshape Ethereum’s direction and sharpen its focus on core infrastructure and value alignment. The Ethereum Community Foundation (ECF) has officially launched, bringing with it millions of dollars' worth of ETH to support projects designed to strengthen Ethereum’s long-term utility and drive demand for its native token.
The ticker is $ETH.
— zak.eth (@0xzak) July 1, 2025
The website is https://t.co/J2JXTDBcfQ.
Announced by Ethereum veteran Zak Cole, the ECF aims to boost institutional adoption of Ethereum by funding a specific category of projects: those that are immutable, tokenless, and contribute to ETH’s value through mechanisms like ETH burn. The foundation’s vision is clear—back technology that reinforces Ethereum’s monetary integrity and avoids the speculative token dynamics that often cloud the space.
“All supported integrations must contribute to ETH burn,” ECF states on its website. “By aligning institutional throughput with ETH holder value, we ensure adoption enhances the network’s financial health.”
According to Cole, the foundation has already secured significant funding in ETH from individual supporters, forming a treasury that will be distributed to public goods projects and real-world asset (RWA) applications—such as tokenized stocks, bonds, and real estate—that bring tangible value to the Ethereum mainnet.
Grant decisions will be made through transparent coin voting, and every dollar of funding will be traceable.
“Every grant is public. Every project commits to ETH alignment. Every dollar moves the number,” Cole said during his presentation at the Ethereum Community Conference in Cannes, France.
The ECF’s first initiative is the Ethereum Validator Association (EVA), a group focused on amplifying the voice of Ethereum validators. The EVA will allow validators to signal their preferences using staked ETH and will provide funding for infrastructure critical to Ethereum’s consensus layer.
This launch comes amid a broader reorganization across the Ethereum ecosystem. A leadership shakeup at the Ethereum Foundation and the emergence of Etherealize—a new institutional outreach firm—signal a turning point in Ethereum’s internal dynamics. The ECF’s formation appears to be a response to perceived inaction from the Ethereum Foundation.
“We hoped the EF would course correct—they didn’t,” Cole said. “So we’re stepping up. This isn’t a fork in the code, it’s a fork in priorities.”
In addition to funding infrastructure, the ECF plans to engage with policymakers and regulators, bringing Ethereum’s narrative to institutional and governmental audiences.