The post Ethereum’s ‘second foundation’ was a ruse — then Etherealize launched appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

This is a segment from the 0xResearch newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe. Rumors of a “second foundation” — a more commercially-oriented alternative to the Ethereum Foundation — turned out to be a ruse…sort of. Lido and P2P.org founder Konstantin Lomashuk teased the idea on X Wednesday, but quickly walked it back. “If a second foundation ever does form, it must have a clear purpose that complements the enormous work of current contributors,” he wrote. “I appreciate everyone’s support and believe we need more organizations contributing to Ethereum.” Before Lomashuk revealed he wasn’t serious, the notion was endorsed by a number of prominent Ethereum voices, including Uniswap founder Hayden Adams.
“Moving technical development to a 2nd foundation is not crazy…[With] the right leader I bet it could raise big $ and have a huge impact,” Adams mused. As if on cue, hours later a new group funded by the EF — going by the name Etherealize — emerged from stealth. The new organization, which calls itself an “institutional marketing and product arm for the Ethereum ecosystem,” will be a resource for TradFi. The team of eight is led by Vivek Raman, who previously headed AI and crypto investment banking at BitOoda. Raman also had trading experience at Nomura, Deutsche Bank, UBS, and Morgan Stanley. Grant Hummer, James Fickel and Philipp Muens are also signed on. In its kick-off, Etherealize sounded “a note of gratitude for the [EF], who has ushered the growth of a new global economy.” It added: “The EF cannot — and should not — do it all. We’re here to help.” Now, many of the same folks who’ve been calling for a leadership change at the EF are rallying behind the new group. Some, who just this week were removing .eth from their X names, have done an…

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Filed under: News - @ January 23, 2025 6:19 pm