Ethereum Foundation Unveils New Treasury Policy With 15% Opex Cap

The Ethereum Foundation published an updated treasury policy on Wednesday, outlining a series of new plans around token sales, fiat purchases and transparency practices designed to ensure the organization's "long-term agency, sustainability, and legitimacy."

The EF, a Swiss non-profit, plays a central role in the Ethereum blockchain ecosystem. In addition to employing researchers, builders and community liaisons, the foundation was granted a large trove of ether (ETH) tokens at Ethereum's genesis which it uses to fund its operations and support other projects in the ecosystem.

In a blog post on Wednesday, the foundation stated it plans to annually designate 15% of its treasury to operational expenses ("opex"), with a 2.5-year buffer kept at all times in its reserves. "We intend to reduce annual opex roughly linearly over the next five years, ending at a long-term 5% baseline," the foundation wrote. "This policy reflects our conviction that 2025-26 are likely to be pivotal for Ethereum, warranting enhanced focus on critical deliverables."

In addition to periodically selling some of its ETH tokens onto the market, the foundation said it will occasionally diversify its holdings into fiat to ensure it can continue funding key ecosystem projects regardless of crypto market conditions.

The foundation emphasized that decisions about managing its treasury — including occasional ETH sales — are made with operational planning and risk mitigation in mind. The foundation stated that its investments are not driven by speculative goals, but to ensure EF can continue to support the ecosystem well into the future.

“We will frequently reallocate funds between protocols for reasons such as changing market conditions, diversification, or new yield opportunities,” the foundation wrote. “Withdrawals should be understood in this context and not as anti-endorsements.”

Furthermore, the foundation promised to publish quarterly financial reports to its board, as well as an annual report, which in the past has been made public. On Oct. 31, 2024, the EF shared it had $970.2 million in treasury, down 39% from the previous time the organization reported its financial standings.

Token-rich crypto foundations like the Ethereum Foundation have, for years, been at the center of many of the industry's biggest controversies. Foundations hold immense power within the ecosystems they serve, but they are frequently criticized for having opaque operations, generous compensation packages and vague responsibilities.

Wednesday's post comes amid a broader push by the Ethereum community for foundation transparency and reform.

In 2024, a pair of Ethereum Foundation researchers came under fire for quietly accepting token allocations from Ethereum-based projects, pushing the entire organization into a reckoning around conflicts of interest.

Ethereum has also faced heightened competition from other blockchains over the past year, and some within the community have pushed for the Ethereum Foundation to act with more urgency in pushing along the ecosystem's tech development.

Earlier this week, the foundation shared that it had laid off some members as part of a restructuring of its research arm.

Read more: Ethereum Foundation Lays Off Some Staff Amid R&D Restructuring