Trent Van Epps, a former leader at the Ethereum Foundation, has raised concerns about a potential funding gap as Ethereum's governance undergoes significant changes. Van Epps, who recently left the Foundation, noted that the organization is accelerating its strategy to decentralize authority across the ecosystem. This shift involves reducing the Foundation's central role, aiming for multiple independent institutions to coordinate Ethereum's future. Van Epps emphasized that Ethereum faces a practical funding challenge, estimating that core protocol development requires approximately $30 million annually. Despite the Ethereum Foundation's treasury declining, he stressed the need for new organizations to finance public goods essential for the network's reliability and security. His Protocol Guild initiative has distributed nearly $40 million to core developers over four years, but Van Epps acknowledged this is insufficient to replace broader ecosystem funding.