Succession After Subtraction: Ethereum institutions, political economy, and what comes next

https://preview.redd.it/hgewz657328h1.png?5235&format=png&auto=webp&s=1d9d034da533dbefeec0c1e172e5cc7fddd6d433

My latest article on Ethereum institutions (past, present, and future) and their political economy:

• Subtraction and Legitimacy
• The Funding Crisis
• Succession Planning

Read/discuss/share here:

• Farcaster: https://farcaster.xyz/trent/0x9b4b522f
• Twitter https://x.com/trent_vanepps/status/206759312439898955
• Paragraph: https://paragraph.com/@trent-4/succession-after-subtraction

I believe this is a critical time to establish institutions for our next decade, and beyond.

• I worked at the Ethereum Foundation for 5 years coordinating core development, Protocol Guild funding, and political economy research.
• Subtraction successfully signals reduced EF power yet legitimacy stubbornly pools at the Foundation via brand, Vitalik affiliation, treasury, and assets.
• Treasury constraints and CIP expiration risk a slow-burning funding crisis that threatens institutional capacity for protocol maintenance and upgrades.
• EF will not steward Ethereum's next decade; a reset of social, political, and economic contracts is needed for effective institutional succession.
• New mechanisms must enable scalable neutral funding, steward interdependent resources, and prioritize broad adoption for the World Computer.