Ethereum Research Nonprofit Ethlabs Launches Backed by SharpLink, Bitmine and Joe Lubin

TLDR

• Five former Ethereum Foundation researchers have launched Ethlabs, a new independent nonprofit R&D organization.
• SharpLink Gaming, Bitmine Immersion Technologies, and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin are among the key backers.
• Ethlabs will focus on faster transaction settlement, expanding network capacity, and institutional infrastructure for stablecoins and tokenized assets.
• The launch follows a wave of departures from the Ethereum Foundation, including co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang.
• Ether is currently trading around $1,700, roughly 65% below its all-time high.

Five former senior Ethereum Foundation researchers have launched a new nonprofit research and development organization called Ethlabs, backed by major corporate holders of ether and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin.

The organization was announced on Monday. It is funded by SharpLink Gaming and Bitmine Immersion Technologies — two of the largest Ethereum treasury companies — along with Lubin, who also serves as CEO of Consensys. Other backers include Anchorage Digital, Octant, and SNZ.

Ethlabs is led by Ansgar Dietrichs, Barnabé Monnot, Caspar Schwarz-Schilling, Josh Rudolf, and Julian Ma. All five previously held senior roles at the Ethereum Foundation, where they worked on areas including Ethereum scaling, protocol economics, data availability, and network finality.

The launch comes at a time of change at the Ethereum Foundation, the Switzerland-based nonprofit that has long led Ethereum’s research and development. Co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang announced her departure last week, adding to a series of exits from the organization in recent months. Ma and Monnot were among those who left the Foundation earlier this year.

A former Ethereum Foundation contributor, Trenton Van Epps, warned last week that Ethereum risks entering a “slow-burning funding crisis,” citing continued ether sales by the Foundation. In May, co-founder Vitalik Buterin acknowledged the Foundation’s resources were limited, noting it held about 0.16% of the total ether supply.

What Ethlabs Plans to Work On

Ethlabs says its initial research will target faster transaction settlement, expanding Ethereum’s capacity, and improving infrastructure for institutions issuing tokenized assets and stablecoins on the blockchain.

Ethereum currently holds a 53% share of the $300 billion stablecoin market and hosts roughly half of the $32 billion tokenized real-world asset market, according to data from RWA.xyz.

SharpLink said Ethlabs “exists to ensure the network is ready to absorb” the demand that institutions will place on it as stablecoins, tokenized funds, and AI-driven commerce move on-chain.

Both SharpLink and Bitmine have built large ether treasury positions, giving them a direct financial interest in Ethereum’s long-term development and infrastructure readiness.

Funding Structure and Independence

Ethlabs says its research agenda will be kept independent through an external grants administration process. Funding contributors will receive transparency reports but will have no direct control over the organization’s technical priorities.

Lubin described the launch as part of a broader shift toward what he called a “multi-node” development model, where multiple independent organizations share responsibility for developing the Ethereum network, rather than one central body.

Ethereum educator David Hoffman said: “The EF is intentionally leaving a power vacuum for new structures to step up and influence the direction of Ethereum. I think the Ethlabs direction holds the brightest future for Ethereum.”

Ether is currently trading around $1,700, which is 65% below its all-time high — levels last seen in October 2023 and April 2025.

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