Ethereum’s ‘second foundation’ was a ruse — then Etherealize launched
An EF-backed group focused on institutional adoption wants to be a resource for TradFi
Akif CUBUK/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks
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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 about-face.
As a content hub, the new website features half a dozen interactive graphs and four blog posts credited to Ramen. The content positions Ethereum as the leading blockchain platform for institutional adoption due to its security, decentralization and regulatory clarity as a commodity with approved ETFs. It promotes both the store of value role and rollups as scalable and efficient platforms to meet institutional needs.
ETH’s staking yields and active asset tokenization platform rounds out the pitch to TradFi players.
Aave founder Stani Kulechov said, “it makes sense to double down on institutions, especially as most of the DeFi is on Ethereum.”
While the Etherealize debut is likely to placate the EF’s more strident critics in the short term, the real test will be if the org can make a dent in the current narrative of Ethereum leadership being out of touch and uncompetitive. The mood is no doubt partly a function of ETH’s underperformance, which has touched a four-year low against bitcoin in recent days.
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