Ethereum Foundation is Entering a Period of Mild Austerity: Vitalik Buterin

Key Insights:

• Vitalik Buterin suggests a new austerity phase for the Ethereum Foundation to achieve two key goals.
• Ethereum networks excel in scalability as TPS hits new all-time-high.
• BlackRock and Fidelity led the net daily outflows of $155,700,000 on Jan. 29, 2026.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin reveals the next phase for the Ethereum Foundation (EF). Vitalik said the Ethereum Foundation is entering five years of mild austerity.

The ETH co-founder also disclosed that he is redirecting personal resources toward a bigger vision of technology.

Vitalik Buterin on the Ethereum Foundation Austerity Goals

Vitalik highlighted two goals that the Ethereum Foundation would achieve by entering a period of mild austerity.

The first goal is to deliver on an aggressive roadmap that ensures Ethereum maintains its status as a performant and scalable world computer.

Secondly, the austerity phase will ensure the EF itself remains financially sustainable, so it can protect the Ethereum core mission. This includes both the core blockchain layer and users’ ability to access and use the chain with self-sovereignty, security, and privacy.

The austerity allows the EF to fund core Ethereum development aggressively while avoiding burnout that could threaten its independence.

Vitalik Buterin also disclosed he is taking personal responsibility, rather than letting the EF fund certain “special projects”. This frees up EF resources while letting him pursue these goals directly.

The core vision Vitalik is pursuing is an open-source, secure, and verifiable “full stack” of software and hardware. This will help to protect both personal lives and public environments.

The Ethereum co-founder referenced some applications, such as Vensa, ucritter.com, and donations to encrypted messaging apps.

To fund these goals personally over the next few years, Vitalik Buterin withdrew 16,384 ETH. He is also looking into secure, decentralized staking options. This would allow more capital from staking rewards to fund these goals in the long term.

According to Vitalik, Ethereum remains central to these goals as it is the foundational layer for verifiable, decentralized finance, communication, and governance.

Ethereum News: Big Boom in TPS Amid Vitalik Buterin Update

In another Ethereum news, the blockchain network recently hit a new all-time high in transactions per second (TPS). This has also caught the eyes amid the recent update from Vitalik Buterin.

In an X post, Joseph Young, an Ethereum-focused commentator, revealed that the blockchain hit 75,862 TPS.

This is the highest number of transactions the entire Ethereum network processed in a single second. The new figure far outpaced the previous ATH of 58,786 TPS.

TPS is a core indicator of scalability, the ability to handle more users, apps, trades, and transfers without congestion. Hence, high ecosystem TPS shows real progress in the Ethereum scaling roadmap.

The latest peak in ETH TPS could stem from viral DeFi, memecoins, gaming, or genuine user growth. In his post, Young dismissed short-term ETH price swings, which can be driven by external factors like macroeconomic conditions.

He said he is largely focused on on-chain fundamentals, which currently look good for ETH. This has further fueled discussions, especially as Vitalik Buterin continues to make headlines in the Ethereum news section.

As of this writing, ETH was priced at $2,711, down more than 7.8% over the past 24 hours. The coin also dropped 7.2% and 8.9% over the past week and month, respectively.

Ethereum ETF and Price Outlook

Meanwhile, the ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs), trading in the U.S., resumed another day of outflows.

Market analyst Ted Pillows spotlighted the ETH ETF data collated by Farside Investors. The data showed ETH ETFs recorded net daily outflows of $155,700,000 on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026.

Per the Ethereum news, this means investors withdrew more money from the ETFs than they invested in the funds.

BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) specifically saw $54.9 million in net outflows. This is the second-largest individual contributor among several issuers.

Fidelity’s FETH saw the highest outflows, which amounted to $59.2 million. Other major outflows included Grayscale’s ETH at $26.5 and ETHE at $13.1 million, and smaller amounts from Bitwise.

Recent outflows from these funds have contributed to the down ETH prices. Nevertheless, the appearance of a multi-year historical pattern has hinted at a possible upward move.