Joe Lubin, CEO of software developer Consensys and an original co-creator of Ethereum, is pushing back on the narrative that recent budget cuts and high-profile departures at the Ethereum Foundation signal a crisis.
In an exclusive interview, Lubin told CoinDesk the moves represent a necessary evolution. He argues the Foundation's role must become narrower-strictly focused on stewarding the network's core technology and values-while other organizations take over adoption and business development.
"It is important that the Ethereum Foundation be credibly neutral above reproach," Lubin said. He warned that mixing protocol stewardship with commercialization creates conflicts of interest that are incompatible with a decentralized ecosystem.
The comments come after weeks of community debate sparked by staff departures and internal restructuring. Critics questioned whether the EF has moved quickly enough to counter competitive threats and improve Ethereum's market position.
Lubin dismissed claims of decline, stating emphatically: "Ethereum is not on the decline, not at all."
He acknowledged that the broader crypto industry faces stiff competition for capital from the AI sector. "We were the cool kids... We are not front and center right now in terms of capital inflows," he said.
However, Lubin sees a new wave of adoption on the horizon, driven by autonomous AI agents conducting onchain transactions and growing institutional use of Ethereum-based infrastructure. He described the next major trend as "agentic commerce," where a hybrid human-machine economy utilizes the blockchain's rails.
For Lubin, that future is precisely why the EF must trim its scope. As other entities drive adoption, the Foundation's singular job is to ensure the protocol itself can support the next generation of activity.