For Ethereum Institutional’s founders, it was a conscious choice to become an independent nonprofit rather than remain in the foundation.
“The EC has always been quite vocal about its principle of subtraction,” said Dawson, referring to the organization giving responsibility for the network to other organisations. “This is an example of the increasing decentralization and the number of nodes participating in representing Ethereum.”
Operating outside the foundation also gives the organization greater freedom, Walsh said.
“We feel we have a lot more autonomy and freedom to work as an independent entity,” he said. “We can get a little more meaningful and a little more aggressive in terms of being able to support these teams.”
For years, the Ethereum Foundation has walked a careful line in how much influence it exerts on the ecosystem. Its mandate has largely been to coordinate protocol development and manage Ethereum’s technical roadmap, rather than act as a central authority driving business development or adoption. But as the network grew, some in the community pushed for the foundation to take a more active role in areas like institutional outreach and ecosystem coordination, responsibilities it has increasingly chosen to decentralize instead.
Ethereum Institutional joins a growing network of organizations taking on specialized roles within Ethereum. Last month, EthLabs launched to support ecosystem development, while companies like Etherealize, which launched in 2025, have focused on bringing institutions onchain through commercial products and services.
