Power Transition: A Silent Revolution in the Ethereum Ecosystem

In the summer of 2024, at the Ethereum community conference in Cannes, France, a striking "coup" quietly unfolded. Ethereum core developer Zak Cole announced the establishment of the "Ethereum Community Foundation" (ECF), with the mission of this emerging power entity aimed directly at the core of the existing order — supporting institutional-level adoption of infrastructure and ultimately driving up the price of ETH.

This is not just the birth of a new organization, but a public challenge to the governance philosophy of the "Ethereum Foundation" (EF) that has long dominated the development of Ethereum. EF adheres to a "subtraction philosophy" and seeks to "do the best for the long-term success of Ethereum." The emergence of the ECF, on the other hand, represents a complete "addition" movement aimed at meeting the new demands of this increasingly financialized empire.

The slogan of ECF "Every dollar will drive up the value of ETH" precisely captures the anxiety and desire of ETH holders. So, what exactly is ECF, which dares to challenge in the heart of Ethereum? Where does its confidence come from?

The Soul of ECF: Zak Cole

Zak Cole is the key figure behind ECF, and his experience has shaped ECF's pragmatic, tough, and goal-oriented characteristics. Cole's career began in the United States Marine Corps, where he was responsible for building and protecting critical network infrastructure during the Iraq War. After retiring, he quickly immersed himself in the crypto world, founding a company focused on blockchain performance testing and co-founding a smart contract security competition platform.

Cole combines idealism with pragmatism, and his experiences have given him a deep understanding of the importance of reliability and security of systems under extreme pressure. The three principles of ECF: "immutable, tokenless, and promotion destruction" are the crystallization of his professional experience over the past decade.

The establishment of ECF also reflects Cole's insight into the talent crisis in the industry. He offers a new path: focusing on building a tokenless infrastructure that strengthens the core values of Ethereum, and directly obtaining funding priced in ETH. This strategy is expected to attract top talents who truly resonate with the Ethereum protocol.

The Three Pillars of ECF: Centralization, Dismantling Feudalism, Minting Rights

The three pillars of ECF - "Promotion of Destruction", "No Tokens", and "Immutability" - form its core philosophy. This set of principles aims to reverse the trend of value being continuously diluted and differentiated in the crypto ecosystem, refocusing all economic energy on the core asset, Ether.

1. The "Promotion of Destruction" principle requires that all funded projects must promote the destruction of Ether, directly linking network usage with the value of Ether.

2. The "no tokens" requirement directly declares war on the "Fat Application" narrative, ensuring that all economic value created by the project is returned to ETH holders through a burn mechanism.

3. The "immutability" principle pursues a trustworthy and neutral technology, with rules that are predictable, reliable, and unaffected by any single entity.

These three principles together form a value flywheel: by funding "immutable" "no-token" projects, high-quality on-chain economic activities are encouraged; the large number of transactions generated by these activities will drive the destruction of ETH, thereby directly enhancing the scarcity and value of ETH.

The Two Major Strategies of ECF: Staking Hegemony and Real Asset Colonization

From the very beginning, ECF has demonstrated two core strategies:

1. Establish the Ethereum Validator Association (EVA), directly addressing the core of staking politics. EVA aims to organize decentralized independent validators into a political group that can counterbalance the influence of large protocols, advocating for proposals that enhance the monetary attributes of ETH.

2. Focus on real-world assets (RWA), with the intention of incorporating traditional finance into the Ethereum landscape. The RWA strategy of ECF perfectly aligns with its three key principles, aiming to convert the immense economic energy of the traditional financial world into a continuous destruction of ETH through a "no-token" and "immutable" platform.

EF and ECF: The Collision of Two Visions

EF and ECF represent two different development paths for Ethereum. EF views Ethereum as an "infinite garden" that needs to be carefully nurtured, pursuing ecological prosperity and technological advancement. ECF, on the other hand, sees Ethereum as an economy striving to survive in a fiercely competitive market, directly using the rise in ETH prices as a measure of success.

In terms of governance and financial operations, EF resembles a traditional nonprofit foundation, while ECF attempts to introduce direct capitalist accountability. EF focuses on "public goods," such as core protocol research and developer tools. ECF, on the other hand, advocates for "ETH-centered capitalism," prioritizing funding for commercial applications that can directly capture value for ETH.

This struggle for power between the old and the new will determine whether Ethereum becomes a free federation or a centralized financial empire. Future developments will be defined by the dynamic game between these two factions, which may lead to controversy, but could also make Ethereum more resilient and anti-fragile. The emergence of ECF marks the entry of the Ethereum ecosystem into a new era of competition.