Web 3.0

Five former Ethereum Foundation researchers launched Ethlabs on June 22, an independent non-profit R&D lab backed by Bitmine, SharpLink, and Consensys founder Joe Lubin. The launch comes as at least eight senior EF contributors departed in 2026, raising urgent questions about where Ethereum's protocol research now lives and whether corporate-backed funders with billions in ETH holdings can stay genuinely independent from the research they fund.