BitMine, SharpLink, and Joe Lubin Back New Ethereum Nonprofit ETHLabs
A group of former Ethereum Foundation (EF) researchers has launched Ethlabs, an independent nonprofit R&D organization aimed at accelerating Ethereums adoption as a global financial settlement layer, with backing from crypto companies Bitmine and Sharplink as well as Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin. This is happening at a time when the EF itself is deliberately pulling back and leaving room for new institutions to take on more of the ecosystems core research and development work. What Ethlabs Is and Whos Behind It According to a June 22 post on X, Ethlabs was founded by five former Ethereum Foundation researchers, with a mission to make “Ethereum the settlement layer of the global economy.” The organization will sit between builders working at the application layer and the core protocol itself, helping translate real-world needs into shared standards and infrastructure. One of the labs founders, Julian Ma, who spent 4 years at the EF before leaving earlier this year, explained his reasoning for staying in the ecosystem. “We are at the moment Ethereum was built for,” he wrote on X. “Ethereum is best positioned to become the base layer for worldwide finance.” He also said that his focus at Ethlabs will be on supporting builders and improving infrastructure. The organization will