Lido Co-Founder Teases 'Second Foundation' for Ethereum Amid Community Backlash

Konstantin Lomashuk, the founder of the Lido staking protocol, has teased his intention to build a “Second Foundation” to advance Ethereum’s ecosystem.

Over the past several days, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has outlined plans for a major restructuring of the Ethereum Foundation (EF), the nonprofit organization responsible for supporting Ethereum’s development. In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Buterin shared details of the reorganization, which he said would streamline decision-making processes and address inefficiencies.

The announcement has sparked criticism, with some arguing that Buterin’s central role in the restructuring process undermines Ethereum’s ethos of decentralization.

The Ethereum Foundation, however, has long been scrutinized for its own centralizing influence within the Ethereum ecosystem. Over the past year, the organization has faced mounting pressure to define a clearer vision for Ethereum’s future as competing networks like Solana make strides.

The EF has also been criticized for its “rollup-centric” roadmap, which prioritizes “layer-2” networks that enable faster and cheaper transactions atop Ethereum. While these layer-2 rollups have boosted Ethereum’s throughput, they’ve also drawn concerns about potential trade-offs, such as diminished security guarantees and a notable dent in Ethereum’s base fee revenues.

Lomashuk, who has previously voiced concerns about the Ethereum Foundation’s direction, hinted at the concept of a “Second Foundation” in a December post on X. “The idea of a ‘Second Foundation’ is more about creating competition between different groups, giving the community a choice,” Lomashuk wrote. “EF is super deep, and it’s almost impossible for outsiders to contribute without building long-term research muscle. Without competition, we risk losing the right path.”

On Wednesday, Lomashuk published another X post sharing a newly established account for “Second Foundation.”

Representatives for Lomashuk did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Martin Köppelmann, a prominent Ethereum developer close to Lomashuk, told CoinDesk that the “Second Foundation” proposal is authentic.

“He is certainly seriously thinking about it,” Köppelmann said. “The goal of course is to make it open to anyone who subscribes to the same ideas – roughly that Ethereum needs to scale better and faster.”

Lido, the protocol founded by Lomashuk, allows users to pool their ETH to participate in Ethereum’s staking mechanism, which lets users “stake” (lock up) crypto with the network in exchange for interest. Stake correlates to power in Ethereum’s governance system, making Lido a pivotal entity in the ecosystem: Currently, Lido accounts for around 28% of Ethereum’s staked ETH, making it the network’s single-largest validator.

In addition to Lido, Lomashuk co-founded P2P Validator, a company providing infrastructure for Ethereum validators, and cyber.Fund, a venture capital firm he operates alongside another Lido co-founder. His growing influence raises questions about the potential dynamics between a “Second Foundation” and the existing Ethereum Foundation as the network continues to evolve.