Ethlabs: Funds can support 2-3 years of operations, and there is a complementary partnership with the Ethereum Foundation

Foresight News reported that Ethlabs, an independent non-profit research institution supported by financial treasury companies such as BitMine, published a response to common questions received in the week since its establishment. Regarding funding, Ethlabs stated that it has not yet publicly disclosed the specific fundraising amount, but the committed funds received so far are sufficient to support the team's operations for 2-3 years (including talent recruitment). The team emphasized that ongoing fundraising will continue, rather than being a one-time event; the community round remains open, and the team plans to close this round after announcing a new batch of supporters. The donation address has been updated from eth-labs.eth to ethlabs.eth (both can be used).

In terms of work direction, Ethlabs said that the team is still determining specific milestones and the roadmap, but shared the three main areas currently under consideration. Chain: core protocol work, including L1 execution layer scaling, blob scaling, and shortening the time to finality and transaction inclusion; Platform: the intermediate layer between the protocol and developers, including cross-chain interoperability, block-building markets, and the EVM roadmap; Growth: promoting the implementation of Fast Confirmation Rule and similar technologies in mainstream L2s and centralized exchanges. This rule can reduce the deposit time from Ethereum to L2/exchanges to a few seconds, but requires each party to connect individually.

Regarding its relationship with the Ethereum Foundation, Ethlabs described the two as complementary collaborators, emphasizing that Ethereum does not belong to any single institution. EF, client teams, core developers, L2s, and wallets are all essential components, and Ethlabs acts as "additional supporting power" for Ethereum. On why a non-profit form was chosen, the team explained that sponsors are mainly ETH holders and Ethereum builders, who will not gain influence over direction or the roadmap due to their funding. The team also believes that the mechanism of "ongoing fundraising in the future" itself helps ensure accountability.