Yakovenko’s comments stood out because they came from one of Ethereum’s most prominent competitors. While debates between Ethereum and Solana supporters have often been contentious, Yakovenko’s reaction reflected a view shared by many currently at the top of the industry: that leaner organizations can sometimes make better decisions than larger, more bureaucratic ones.

The emergence of EthLabs is particularly significant because it arrived the day before the foundation’s layoffs and budget cuts, underscoring what supporters see as a broader trend: Ethereum’s research and development ecosystem increasingly extending beyond the foundation itself.

“I feel that the job cuts at the EF were necessary for their budget, longevity, and CROPs alignment,” said Hudson Jameson, head of ecosystems at CertiK and a former employee at the Ethereum Foundation. “As sad as the layoffs are, it was an inevitability to keep the EF lean long term.”

Jameson described EthLabs’ launch as exciting, noting that its founding team includes respected veterans of Ethereum’s research and development community. “The founding team at EthLabs are long-time, well-respected members of the Eth R&D community,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what they will accomplish.”

For years, critics and supporters alike have debated whether Ethereum relies too heavily on the Ethereum Foundation. As the ecosystem has grown into a global network of developers, infrastructure providers, layer-2 networks, institutions and companies, some leaders have argued that the foundation should become less central rather than more influential.