Ethereum Foundation Mandate: Defending Privacy, Security and Self‑Sovereignty

TLDR

• EF prioritizes privacy, security, and censorship resistance across Ethereum.
• Protocol upgrades focus on decentralization, verifiability, and long-term resilience.
• Developers will enhance user sovereignty with trust-minimized applications.
• CROPS principles guide all EF initiatives: privacy, security, open-source, inclusion.
• EF positions itself as neutral steward, independent of commercial pressures.

The Ethereum Foundation has published a formal mandate clarifying its role as steward of Ethereum. The new directive focuses on ensuring privacy, security, and censorship resistance at the protocol and application layers. The mandate signals a firm commitment to preserving Ethereum as a neutral, user-sovereign, and trust-minimized network.

The mandate emphasizes CROPS principles—censorship resistance, open source, privacy, security—and ties them to actionable initiatives. Ethereum Foundation now prioritizes long-term technical work over short-term metrics or commercial targets. The foundation positions itself as a guardian of Ethereum’s integrity, enabling growth without compromising core principles.

This document codifies Ethereum Foundation’s responsibilities as a neutral steward rather than a product-focused organization. It sets boundaries for support, channeling resources to systems that protect users and maintain self-sovereignty. The mandate reinforces Ethereum Foundation’s vision of a secure and open infrastructure for decentralized applications.

Protocol Layer Focus: Security and Inclusion

Ethereum Foundation will prioritize decentralization, verifiability, and inclusion guarantees across all protocol upgrades. Developers under the foundation will concentrate on protocol liveness, privacy, and security first, with scale improvements supporting user sovereignty. These measures aim to reduce reliance on intermediaries that could compromise Ethereum’s core principles.

The foundation’s mandate formalizes its approach to protocol upgrades, including account abstraction and selective aggregation. Ethereum Foundation will continue post-quantum research to ensure long-term resilience and global settlement capacity. The organization also highlights work like FOCIL, ensuring transaction inclusion even under regulatory or network pressure.

This framework rejects designs prioritizing current use cases over future-proof decentralization. Ethereum Foundation intends to maintain the “walkaway test” principle, allowing Ethereum to adapt without sacrificing self-sovereignty. Protocol-level decisions will consistently focus on enabling trust-minimized and privacy-preserving interactions.

Application Layer: User Sovereignty and Safety

Ethereum Foundation’s mandate sets a standard for user-facing applications emphasizing privacy, security, and seamless experiences. Developers will focus on tools that maximize user agency while protecting against accidental losses or malicious exploits. The foundation aims to create a “zero option” experience that safeguards non-expert users without compromising freedom.

The foundation distinguishes its work from broader ecosystem projects, supporting complementary initiatives outside EF while retaining its CROPS-focused expertise. Ethereum Foundation will invest in research and tools that enhance user self-sovereignty and minimize reliance on centralized intermediaries. This approach aims to demonstrate the practical value of privacy-first, secure applications for all users.

Ethereum Foundation signals its independence from regulatory or commercial pressures. The document guides internal teams, external developers, and the broader community toward privacy-preserving, open-source systems. Ethereum Foundation now clarifies its stewardship role as both protector and enabler of user sovereignty and long-term protocol resilience.

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