Ethereum’s underrated core developer ecosystem: potential risks to protocol security and innovation

Despite Ethereum’s total lock-in value (TVL) of up to $87.3 billion, its core developer ecosystem still faces long-term underfunding, with opaque compensation data raising concerns about the security and innovation of protocols. Unlike Solana’s centralized and well-funded model or Bitcoin’s donation-based model, Ethereum relies on decentralized community programs, which can lead to the loss of talent to competitors. A 2025 report noted that only a small percentage of its more than 250 monthly active developers focused on core upgrades, highlighting an unsustainable imbalance between ecosystem growth and infrastructure maintenance. We urge stakeholders to prioritize transparent grants, competitive compensation and cooperation incentives to maintain Ethereum’s dominance.