Ethereum Foundation Formalizes DeFi Strategy With New Protocol Support Unit

EF formalizes DeFipunk strategy, adds new leadership, and sets roadmap for crypto-native DeFi innovation.

Ethereum Foundation is increasing its focus on decentralized finance and crypto-native values. A new team will help build and support DeFi protocols and work more closely with developers. As per the firm, this move shows a stronger commitment to DeFipunk, which is based on cypherpunk ideals. More so, new leadership roles and structural changes reflect a wider plan to guide Ethereum’s future growth.

EF Expands DeFipunk Vision With New Protocol-Focused DeFi Division

Under the new structure, the Ethereum Foundation has created a dedicated DeFi unit within its App Relations team. The group will focus on early-stage protocol design, research, and builder support. App Relations operates under Ecosystem Acceleration, led by Jason Chaskin.

Charles St. Louis, former CEO of DELV and a governance architect at MakerDAO, joins as DeFi Protocol Specialist. Ivan, co-founder of Gearbox Protocol known as ivangbi, takes on the role of DeFi Coordinator. Both will help shape strategy and guide teams building decentralized applications.

The team outlined its vision in a public statement. DeFi, in its view, must remain permissionless, censorship-resistant, privacy-first, self-custodial, and open source. 

“We recognize the challenges involved in fully getting to this point—our role is to advocate for these principles, support teams working toward them, showcase the ones doing it, and be clear about how to get there and why it matters,” the team added.

St. Louis later wrote that DeFipunk represents finance that could not exist without Ethereum, rather than finance that mirrors traditional systems.

Core focus areas include:

• Supporting new protocol development aligned with crypto-native values.
• Advancing research in protocol security and application design.
• Creating direct communication channels between DeFi teams and EF.
• Coordinating with EF’s Privacy Cluster on privacy-focused initiatives.

Ethereum Foundation Eyes AI Agents and Onchain Futures in DeFi Roadmap

The blog post also referenced forward-looking ideas. Concepts such as user-controlled AI agents, high-throughput onchain futures markets, futarchy DAOs, and zero-knowledge private undercollateralized lending were mentioned. At the same time, existing DeFi projects will continue receiving support.

Clearer public channels for updates, events, and ecosystem news are also planned. The DeFi team aims to improve transparency around engagement and resource allocation.

Restructuring comes after a wider reorganization that began last year. Basically, the goal is to improve how funds are used and how Ethereum’s long-term vision is shared. As competition among smart contract networks grows, focus on crypto-native finance shows where Ethereum Foundation plans to direct its resources next.

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