William Mougayar Defends Ethereum Foundation Against Community Criticism

William Mougayar defends Ethereum Foundation, emphasizing its intended role.

Blockchain researcher and investor William Mougayar has defended the Ethereum Foundation (EF), stating that the organization is “doing exactly what it was created for.”

https://t.co/TCA3lPwh3W

— William Mougayar (@wmougayar) May 24, 2026

In an essay titled Leave the Foundation Alone, the author of “The Business Blockchain” wrote:

“It is not a corporation. It was never intended to be one. The sooner the market accepts this, the sooner the noise around it will become irrelevant.” 

The statement was prompted by growing criticism of the EF amid weak ETH performance, the foundation’s coin sales, and accusations of insufficient ecosystem support.

Mougayar emphasized that the organization should not be involved in promoting the cryptocurrency’s price or institutional marketing of the network.

“The Ethereum Foundation does not market ETH, pump your portfolios, or conduct roadshows for institutions — that is not its function,” he wrote.

The Foundation is on a Path of “Self-Diminishment”

According to Mougayar, the Ethereum Foundation is consciously aiming to become less significant to the ecosystem over time, rather than increasing its control over it.

He noted that the organization:

• funds fundamental research;
• advances scaling;
• works on privacy;
• explores post-quantum resilience;
• enhances Ethereum’s compatibility with AI;
• supports developer standards.

The researcher compared the community’s expectations of the Ethereum Foundation to expecting the IETF to buy advertising slots for the TCP/IP protocol during the Super Bowl.

Mougayar also urged distinguishing between three different entities: ETH (as a cryptocurrency), Ethereum (the infrastructure), and EF (the organization). In his view, conflating these concepts leads to misguided expectations and “erroneous forecasts.”

In March, the EF published an updated mandate, reaffirming the principle of minimal intervention in the network’s development.