From the interview with Hsiao-Wei, the joint executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, we can extract several key highlights of Ethereum's current development:
1) On the technical level, The Merge successfully transitioned from PoW to PoS, described as "changing engines mid-flight", demonstrating Ethereum's ability to upgrade its core architecture without downtime. Notably, she emphasized that The Merge's greatest challenge was not technical, but about "integrating people" - coordinating developers, clients, and stakeholders;
2) In terms of organizational structure, EF is experiencing clear functional differentiation and specialization. The internal reorganization divides EF into three business groups, while separating specific functions to external organizations like Etherealize, focused on interfacing with traditional finance and Wall Street. This division reflects Ethereum's ecosystem gradually moving towards a multi-centered governance model;
3) In funding strategy, EF is no longer limited to simple ETH sales, but actively exploring diverse management methods such as DeFi lending, staking, and asset tokenization, showing more mature financial thinking. Notably, Hsiao-Wei pointed out that selling coins is a last resort - the foundation has two to three hundred people, with approximately 75% of expenses requiring fiat currency, which explains the need for "selling coins" even during unfavorable market conditions.
I believe the most thought-provoking aspect is Hsiao-Wei's candid attitude towards the Ethereum Foundation's responsibilities. She candidly stated: "If an organization emerges in the community that can replace EF's role, the foundation might shrink" - essentially saying that EF does not seek permanent central positioning, but is willing to cede power at the appropriate moment. This proactive thinking about self-boundaries and gradual withdrawal stands in stark contrast to other blockchain project founding teams constantly expanding their power boundaries. Additionally, regarding future application trends, Hsiao-Wei specifically mentioned several directions worth noting. She pointed out that Identity, Social design, and mini-program ecosystems are potential innovative directions, aligning with the current trend of Web3 penetrating daily applications.
