From the Ethereum Foundation to the Community Foundation is community an end or a means July 1, Cannes, France.

On the stage of the ongoing EthCC, Ethereum developer Zak Cole made a stunning declaration:

“ETH to $10k isn’t a meme, it’s a requirement!”

The translation roughly is, the rise of ETH to 10,000 USD is not a meme, but a demand.

As soon as he finished speaking, he announced the establishment of the Ethereum Community Foundation (ECF), a community-oriented foundation that vows to push ETH to new heights.

The name of this soon-to-be-established organization easily reminds people of the more official Ethereum Foundation (EF), which differs by just one word.

Then, Zak Cole spoke during the presentation.indicates：

“We say what the Ethereum Foundation (hereinafter referred to as EF) is unwilling to say, and do what they are unwilling to do. We provide services for ETH holders because you deserve better. Our North Star, our token Ticker, is ETH.”

Applause and skepticism erupted simultaneously on platform X; some cheered that this is a community awakening, while others sarcastically called it another speculative gimmick.

Ethereum, the king that has nurtured DeFi, NFTs, and Layer 2 innovations, is facing a price slump and attacks from rivals like Solana.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF), established for 11 years, has promoted the Ethereum The Merge and Dencun technological upgrades, but has also been criticized for its high expenditures and alienation of the community.

At this time, loudly shouting for the service community and ETH holders, the slogan of ECF is indeed timely, but saying and doing are completely different concepts.

What is the specific plan to make ETH rise to $10,000? How does it differ from EF?

The banner of transparency and empowerment

From the content of the on-site speech, the goals of ECF are clear and ambitious: to drive up the price of Ether, accelerate institutional adoption, and empower the community.

In general, it will first increase ETH burn and reduce circulating supply by funding high-volume projects (such as tokenization of real assets), driving the price of ETH towards 10,000 dollars.

Secondly, the ECF plans to provide banks and enterprises with an easy Ethereum integration solution, promoting Ethereum as the global settlement layer to attract traditional finance. Finally, it promises to empower validators and the community with more say in protocol development and funding allocation through the Ethereum Validator Association (EVA) and coin voting mechanisms.

In terms of specific strategy, the execution of ECF revolves around those “immutable, tokenless” projects.

It will prioritize funding high ETH consumption applications such as on-chain financial derivatives and real estate tokenization, ensuring that the burning mechanism of EIP-1559 achieves maximum effect.

To attract institutions, ECF plans to collaborate with regulators to develop compliant on-chain solutions while investing in validator infrastructure, such as staking tools and node optimization, to enhance network security.

In addition, transparency is its core selling point: all funding decisions are made through community voting, and the flow of funds is 100% public, striving to distinguish itself from the “black box operations” of the Ethereum Foundation (EF).

If I am incompetent, I will be replaced.

In the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, Liu Bei entrusted his son to Zhuge Liang at Baidi City, saying in his dying moments: “If the child is capable, then assist him; if he is not talented, you may take matters into your own hands.”

It means that if my son does not succeed, you can directly take his place.

Ethereum in 2025 also stands at such a historical juncture.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) seems like that incapable Liu Shan; but will the Ethereum Community Fund (ECF) be the loyal Zhuge Liang?

The set of combination punches above clearly targets the official Ethereum Foundation — Zak Cole’s speech also hit the pain points of the EF: sluggish prices, community alienation, and competitive losses.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) was once the beacon of Ethereum; however, this year we have seen more negative discussions about it. The EF is indeed mired in internal and external troubles, with high expenditures, centralized decision-making, and market failures leading to widespread grievances within the community.

EF’s expenditures in 2023 reached $134.9 million, funding projects such as mainnet upgrades and zero-knowledge proofs, but it has faced criticism for insufficient transparency.

The community also questions the lack of funding allocation details and project progress in its Ecosystem Support Program, as decision-making power is concentrated in the hands of a few management members, which contradicts the idea of decentralization.

In 2024, EF researchers Justin Drake and Dankrad Feist resigned due to disputes over EigenLayer consultancy, further exposing the issue of conflicts of interest, with calls for “EF out of control” rising on platform X.

Internal restructuring and layoffs further highlight management difficulties.

In 2024, Ethereum’s mainnet revenue dropped significantly, as Layer 2 solutions (such as Arbitrum and Optimism) diverted trading volume, and the ETH burning effect of EIP-1559 weakened due to reduced mainnet activity.

The price of ETH failed to outperform Solana during the bull market of 2024-2025, as the latter has advantages in trading speed and low fees, while Binance Smart Chain has also diverted some DeFi traffic.

In terms of institutional adoption, EF’s neutral stance has led to Ethereum’s slow progress in expanding into traditional finance, far behind Solana’s collaborations with enterprises.

The disappointment of the community has also paved the way for the appearance of ECF today.

Serial entrepreneur Zak

Man proposes, God disposes. Whether ECF can bring ETH to 10,000 USD ultimately depends on people.

However, the past of core developer Zak Cole is like a double-edged sword, adding luster to his ambitions while casting a shadow over the credibility of ECF.

He is a well-known serial entrepreneur in the industry and has served as a co-founder of multiple projects. However, the results of these continuous entrepreneurial efforts seem to contradict his current slogan of empowering the Ethereum community.

The community is often the injured buyer.

According to the well-known whistleblower in the crypto community on X, several major projects that Zak is involved in have not performed well in the market.

For example, BTC L2 Corn, which went online not long ago, has already experienced a price drop, while the airdrop strategy has also backfired on the community; and the ancient project ICON that it participated in back in 2017 saw its token nearly go to zero.

(Image source: X user Encryption Fearless@cryptobraveHQ)

Of course, there are environmental issues related to the poor performance of the entire cryptocurrency market and the debunking of various narratives and projects, but it’s hard to believe that a person who has repeatedly started over as an entrepreneur would invest lasting effort in the Ethereum community.

The ambition of ECF’s “ETH to $10k” still raises a question mark at this time.

Its price-driving strategy, such as funding high-burn projects and institutional adoption plans (like collaborations with banks), may temporarily boost the value of Ether, but it also faces speculation risks and centralization concerns.

After all, you never know if the next crypto project will be a rebranded version of the last rug.

The crypto world is full of ups and downs, we have seen too many fluctuations, and often transparent promises are just slogans, while the community is merely a pawn caught in the ambitions of price.

This time, will it be different?

Statement:

1. This article is reproduced from [TechFlow] The copyright belongs to the original author [TechFlow] If there are any objections to the reprint, please contact Gate Learn TeamThe team will process it as soon as possible according to the relevant procedures.
2. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not constitute any investment advice.
3. Other language versions of the article are translated by the Gate Learn team, unless otherwise stated.Gate) under such circumstances shall not copy, distribute, or plagiarize translated articles.