BitMine Immersion Technologies (NASDAQ: BMNR) Chairman Tom Lee publicly dismissed warnings of an Ethereum developer-funding crisis, posting “zero chance” on social media platform X.
Lee wrote, “In my opinion, zero chance of this ‘crisis’ happening for $ETH,” before adding “ZERO” and “Funding secured” in follow-up posts on the platform.
His comments were directed at Trent Van Epps, a former Ethereum Foundation contributor who coordinated core protocol development and the Protocol Guild funding effort between 2021 and April 2026.
Van Epps published an article warning that Ethereum’s core development could face a “slow-burning funding crisis” within three to nine months, citing tightening funding sources with no replacement in place.
He estimated the cost of supporting the network’s more than 10 client teams, researchers, and coordination groups at approximately $30 million annually, describing it as a relatively modest figure given the project’s ambitions.
Van Epps wrote, “Without continuous funding, we lose people with critical context built up over years, fall behind on looming challenges like quantum computing or scaling, and ultimately risk the mainnet’s reputation for reliability.”
He added, “We cannot assume contributors will still be available when funding conditions improve, let alone account for the cost to morale for those who remain.”
The warning coincided with Hsiao-Wei Wang’s resignation as co-executive director and board member of the Ethereum Foundation, leaving Bastian Aue as effectively the sole executive director.
Wang’s departure marks at least the eighth senior exit from the Foundation in 2026, following Van Epps in April and co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak in February, though the Foundation has said its treasury plan keeps it solvent for the medium term.
Separately, zkSync founder Alex Gluchowski argued in March that Ethereum remained the “only option” for large financial institutions, despite growing competition from rival blockchain networks.
Gluchowski cited Stripe’s Tempo and an upcoming JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) chain as examples of corporate networks that would struggle to achieve industry-wide adoption, since rival institutions would be unlikely to settle on a competitor’s infrastructure.
BitMine holds around 5.6 million ETH, representing approximately 4.6% of the circulating supply, and has staked roughly $8.1 billion in ETH through its own validator network, making it the largest corporate holder of Ethereum.
Ethereum was trading around $1,723 at the time of the reports, up over 1% in the prior 24-hour period, while BMNR stock closed up over 2% on Friday.
