Konstantin Lomashuk, the founder of staking protocol Lido, has hinted at his intention to build a “Second Foundation” to advance the Ethereum ecosystem.
In recent days, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has outlined plans for a major restructuring of the Ethereum Foundation (EF), the non-profit organization responsible for supporting the development of Ethereum. In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Buterin shared details of the reorganization, which he said would streamline decision-making processes and address inefficiencies.
The announcement has sparked criticism, with some arguing that Buterin’s central role in the restructuring process undermines Ethereum’s spirit of decentralization.
However, the Ethereum Foundation has long come under scrutiny for its own centralizing influence within the Ethereum ecosystem. Over the past year, the organization has faced increasing pressure to define a clearer vision for the future of Ethereum as competing networks like Solana move forward.
Read more: Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin goes on the offensive amid major leadership shakeup
EF has also been criticized for its “rollup-centric” roadmap, which prioritizes “layer 2” networks that enable faster and cheaper transactions over Ethereum. While these layer 2 accumulators have increased Ethereum’s performance, they have also raised concerns about potential trade-offs, such as lower security guarantees and a noticeable dent in Ethereum’s base fee revenue.
Lomashuk, who had previously expressed concerns about the direction of the Ethereum Foundation, hinted at the concept of a “Second Foundation” in a December post on X. “The idea of a ‘Second Foundation’ has more to do with creating competition between different groups, giving the community a choice,” Lomashuk wrote. “EF is very deep and it is almost impossible for outsiders to contribute without building long-term research muscle. Without competition, we risk losing the right path.”
On Wednesday, Lomashuk posted another X post sharing a newly created account for “Second Foundation.”
Lomashuk representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Martin Köppelmann, a prominent Ethereum developer close to Lomashuk, told CoinDesk that the “Second Foundation” proposal is authentic.
“He is certainly thinking seriously about it,” Köppelmann said. “The goal, of course, is to make it open to anyone who subscribes to the same ideas; generally speaking, Ethereum needs to scale better and faster.”
Lido, the protocol founded by Lomashuk, allows users to pool their ETH to participate in Ethereum’s staking mechanism, which allows users to “stake” (lock) cryptocurrencies on the network in exchange for interest. Stake correlates with power in Ethereum’s governance system, making Lido a pivotal entity in the ecosystem: Lido currently represents around 28% of Ethereum’s staked ETH, making it the largest validator. big of the network.
In addition to Lido, Lomashuk co-founded P2P Validator, a company that provides infrastructure for Ethereum validators, and cyber.Fund, a venture capital firm he operates alongside another Lido co-founder. Its growing influence raises questions about the potential dynamic between a “Second Foundation” and the existing Ethereum Foundation as the network continues to evolve.
