I. Introduction: A Breakthrough Signal in the ETH Downturn Era?

Since 2024, ETH's price growth has significantly lagged behind BTC and SOL's performance, diverging considerably from market expectations. Bitcoin has shown strong performance in this cycle, while Ethereum faces competition and market contention from emerging Layer 1 networks like Solana and Sui, and Layer 2 networks such as Base and Arbitrum, making it difficult for ETH prices to rise synchronously. On the other hand, the mainnet's reduced income due to decreased usage has weakened the ETH burning effect, further suppressing price performance. Additionally, this is related to factors such as the underwhelming performance of Ethereum spot ETFs and low institutional adoption and reserves. In this market environment where "BTC stands out while ETH struggles," many believe that traditional systems can no longer effectively protect and grow Ethereum's value. Dissatisfaction has emerged within the Ethereum ecosystem. Some community members attribute the price stagnation to strategic missteps and governance issues of the Ethereum Foundation (EF), including "passivity, centralized governance, low transparency, organizational bloat, and lack of strategic vision." Despite EF's announced strategic restructuring in June 2025, external doubts remain unresolved.

Against this backdrop, Ethereum core developer Zak Cole announced the establishment of the Ethereum Community Foundation (ECF) at the 8th Ethereum Community Conference (EthCC 8) in Cannes, France, in July 2025, proclaiming "ETH reaching $10,000 is not a joke, but a necessary requirement!" He stated that ECF will "say what the Ethereum Foundation doesn't dare to say and do what the Ethereum Foundation is unwilling to do," explicitly emphasizing that ECF's core mission is to support the Ethereum ecosystem in asset form and push ETH to $10,000. This declaration reflects the community's disappointment with previous governance approaches and has sparked widespread discussion about potentially leveraging Ethereum's market.

This article will explore the background of the Ethereum Community Foundation's establishment, analyze the fundamental reasons for ETH's price stagnation in this cycle, and conduct an in-depth analysis of ECF's mission and strategy. It will compare the differences and conflicts between ECF and the Ethereum Foundation (EF), and discuss the potential actual impact of ECF's establishment on the Ethereum ecosystem and ETH price. Finally, it will examine the development trends of the Ethereum ecosystem based on market responses and potential future paths.

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5. Whale Selling and Liquidity Uncertainty

Recently, the market has seen large institutional entities such as Jump Crypto, Paradigm, and Golem Network reducing their Ethereum holdings, with these institutions previously holding a total of $1.5 billion in ETH. Some of these assets have been transferred to exchanges and sold, intensifying market selling pressure.

Meanwhile, changes in Ethereum network staking rewards rates and fluctuations in active validator numbers suggest that ETH circulating supply is undergoing dynamic adjustments. These supply-side uncertainties not only increase ETH market volatility but also create additional downward price pressure in the short term, significantly impacting market sentiment.

In summary, these five factors - changes in technological economic models, macro and leverage risks, competitive landscape, institutional preferences, and liquidity structure - have collectively contributed to Ethereum's recent relatively stagnant situation.

III. ECF's Mission and Comparison with EF

ECF approaches with a "market mindset", attempting to enhance ETH's status as a core asset through funding and policy tools. The Ethereum Community Fund (ECF) claims to "serve ETH holders, say what EF is unwilling to say, and do what EF is unwilling to do". They set Ethereum's "North Star" at a $10,000 price target, believing that only when coin price and network security rise in sync can ETH's long-term value be guaranteed.

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Institutional Capital Inflow: ECF is working to promote Ethereum as a global financial settlement layer. If its cooperation with traditional institutions expands smoothly, large institutional funds may enter ETH assets through channels such as enterprise chain modifications and spot ETF. This will provide potential new buying momentum for ETH.

Risks and Uncertainties:It is necessary to be wary that overemphasizing price may trigger regulatory attention or market doubts. If ECF fails to deliver performance in the short term, it may instead disappoint investors. On the other hand, the concentration of ECF's funding strategy also brings the risk of market influence by a few people, which is seen by some as a speculative gimmick. Additionally, ECF's core initiator Zak Cole has previously been involved in multiple projects, but some projects did not achieve ideal price performance after airdrops or trading, which may lead to trust uncertainty.

Overall, ECF may inject new vitality into the Ethereum network by focusing on public infrastructure, on-chain finance, and governance transparency. If these measures can be successfully implemented, they will help improve network economic efficiency and boost ETH prices. However, its actual effect still needs to be verified by subsequent project implementation and community participation. Even with the support of funds like ECF, the key to driving price increases still depends on whether macroeconomic conditions, regulatory policies, and technological upgrades are in place.

V. Conclusion and Outlook: Community Awakening or Speculative Gimmick?

The emergence of the Ethereum Community Fund reflects the dissatisfaction of some groups with Ethereum's current status and has triggered divergent interpretations of its prospects. This could be either a community awakening - a victory of grassroots power against centralization and maximizing ETH value, or just another speculative gimmick - a "carefully packaged wealth code". The high-profile slogans and aggressive roadmap released by ECF precisely capture the community's desire for price recovery, but whether it can be realized still needs long-term market verification.

Looking to the future, the direction of the Ethereum network and ETH price will be influenced by multiple factors. One driving factor is the continued inflow of institutional investors, with some listed companies and large institutions beginning to invest in ETH as a long-term asset. The Pectra upgrade will further improve data transmission efficiency, paving the way for on-chain applications, especially in AI/Web3 scenarios, which is expected to increase network utilization and bring more ETH burning. Additionally, if the on-chain asset issuance and infrastructure investments promoted by ECF are successfully realized, they will inject new momentum into the Ethereum ecosystem and support ETH value.

Regardless of the outcome, the emergence of ECF has already reflected internal divisions within the Ethereum ecosystem: some desire quick returns and price prosperity, while others focus more on protocol technological progress and long-term innovation. The key to the future lies in whether ECF can promote substantive project implementation within its "transparency, no-token, promotion of burning" framework and whether these projects can withstand market scrutiny. If it can achieve this, ECF may become an important variable in driving ETH to regain growth momentum; otherwise, it may just be a high-profile promotion that fades after the excitement.

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