BitMine- and Joe Lubin-backed Ethlabs says funding covers two to three years

Ethlabs, a nonprofit Ethereum research group backed by Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Joe Lubin, SharpLink, Anchorage, Octant and SNZ, said in a June 29, 2026 public Q&A and first-week FAQ that committed funding can support operations and hiring for two to three years, though it did not disclose the amount. The group said fundraising will remain ongoing rather than closing as a single round, with a community donation round still open and more supporters due to be announced. Ethlabs said its funding comes from large ETH holders and Ethereum ecosystem builders, but that those backers do not receive governance control over research and building decisions. The organization said its nonprofit structure is meant to support Ethereum as a public good while preserving independence and neutrality, and it has presented that arrangement as a governance model centered on accountability to ETH holders and builders alongside researcher autonomy. The group said it aims to help make Ethereum the core of global financial infrastructure through work on Chain, Platform and Growth, including scaling Ethereum’s L1 execution layer, expanding blob capacity, improving transaction speeds, advancing interoperability and the EVM roadmap, and promoting the Fast Confirmation Rule across L2 networks and exchanges to reduce deposit times. It described itself as "additional supporting power" rather than a replacement for the Ethereum Foundation, whose June 22 restructuring cut 54 jobs, about 20% of staff, and left board member Bastian Aue as the sole executive managing day-to-day operations after the departures of co-directors Tomasz Stańczak in February and Hsiao-Wei Wang on June 22.