Ethereum Foundation Co-Executive Director Hsiao-Wei Wang: Ethereum is a ladder, and we will climb up together.

Speaker: Hsiao-Wei Wang (Co-Executive Directors of Ethereum Foundation)

Organized by: ChainFeeds

Ethereum is a ladder.

This is a system that allows people starting from scratch to continuously rise through their own efforts. Every time someone builds something new on it, the system grows a little taller. This is a ladder that can never be fully built, because its future is being collectively created by everyone present at this moment.

A ladder is useful because it can “take you somewhere”: a direction, an opportunity, a path upwards. Ethereum works in the same way. It never promises a fixed endpoint but provides people with a path they can climb at their own pace. Whenever someone adds a new step, those behind them can stand a little higher.

I personally got involved about seven or eight years ago. This year marks a new chapter for Ethereum. Since the Ethereum Foundation completed its new leadership transition eight months ago, the first responsibility Tomasz and I set for ourselves is to ensure the stability and smoothness of this transition. Because Ethereum is entering a new phase.

I see this stage as defined by three abilities:

The ability to remain reliable under pressure.

The ability to continuously evolve based on community feedback.

The ability to take on responsibility with a true “guardian” mentality.

Reliability is not just a slogan; it is something we must “earn” block by block. So far, Ethereum has achieved 100% network uptime and continuous block production during all major upgrades, and we believe Fusaka will be the next example.

Reliability is the prerequisite that allows people to “build here without fear.” You must know that the step you are standing on is solid.

As of today, Ethereum has completed 10 years. We just celebrated its 10th anniversary today. This is the accumulation of countless people building, experimenting, failing, and trying again over the decade. And the system has always been running, making all of this possible.

The second ability is flexibility.

Flexibility means: we do not pretend to know everything.

It requires us to be willing to listen carefully when the community points out “which areas are not user-friendly and which parts need improvement.”

It requires us to adjust our course with humility when necessary.

When we truly understand “how people climb this ladder”, the ladder will become stronger.

As for the Ethereum Foundation, it cares about Ethereum but does not control it. We do not decide the direction; we maintain an environment that allows the direction to emerge naturally.

Stewardship is not “the power over Ethereum,” but “the contributions and responsibilities undertaken for Ethereum.”

Ethereum operates because people come in from all directions.

Whether you are a researcher, client team member, application developer, investor, application user, scientist, scholar, student, organizer of a local community, or just a beginner getting started, or an experienced veteran: this ladder welcomes everyone who is willing to build things here.

The truly magical aspect of this community is that when one person climbs up, they are not climbing alone. We have an extremely rich resource and collaboration network, and when someone ascends, they often create a new step for the next person who arrives, allowing them to stand on that level.

This is how the “compound interest effect” of Ethereum is generated.

How does compound interest grow?

Let's take a simple example to see what this compound growth and the “ladder getting higher and higher” looks like.

Imagine a user who is encountering the crypto world for the first time, perhaps starting with a certain DeFi use case. He uses DeFi to achieve a goal that he cares about.

Meanwhile, someone searching for opportunities, a researcher, or an analyst saw new ideas from these real behaviors.

In another place, an app developer met their co-founder at an Ethereum hackathon, and they decided to create a brand new product together.

This product will soon become a source of inspiration for another group of people, turning into a new platform on the ladder, a new step.

This ladder is not a pyramid, but a constantly looping system.

Every step taken by an individual will become the starting point for those who come after.

The work at the protocol layer will translate into real-world progress.

Applications will become a new step;

Research will turn into new opportunities.

In this way, Ethereum is “growing taller” for all of us, even for those who have not yet discovered it.

Early Exploration and Key Steps

The Ethereum Foundation will invest in many early explorations that others may not be willing to take on:

Early foundational research, early client development, and various experiments that seem a bit “strange.”

At first, many things do not seem that important, and even a bit “incomprehensible.”

But after a few years, when we look back, we will find that:

A significant part of it has already become an extremely critical step today. New teams and new projects can only continue to build upward by standing on these research and development成果.

At the same time, we cannot pretend:

Decentralization will “automatically maintain”;

Convenience is “without cost”;

The risk of being “captured” by a minority does not exist.

What truly protects the essence of Ethereum is honesty and transparency.

True decentralization, fair neutrality, and resilience under pressure are the steps we must never compromise.

It's not because “maybe a compromise would be okay.”

But because once these core concepts break, all the steps above may collapse together.

Not just blockchain, but a soil for “new things.”

Today, ten years later, Ethereum is no longer just a “blockchain.”

It is a piece of soil, here:

New forms of assets can emerge,

The way of expressing identity can appear,

Culture and communities can be organized in new ways,

Coordination and collaboration can develop into entirely new forms.

It is a platform that carries those “ideas that the world hasn't thought of yet.”

And our job is not to “rush to climb to the highest place,”

But it is necessary to ensure that later generations can reach much higher than we did.

Now, when my family asks me “What do you do?”, I can answer like this:

I help keep this ladder steady.

If those people I will never know can climb to places I will never reach using this ladder, that is the success of Ethereum.

Ethereum's success is due to the fact that it is not owned by any single team.

It is not the Ethereum Foundation, not any specific layer two, and not a single validator.

The reason we can rise together is that we can only rise together.

The future of Ethereum will not be built solely by those on stage, but rather shaped by everyone present and those watching from afar on their screens.

Through your experience, your imagination, and the courage to take the next step.

Ethereum never promises “easy onboarding”.

What it promises is: a fair opportunity that everyone can join, a climb where “every step taken can change the boundaries of possibility.”

Our commitment is simple:

We will continue to do those quiet, less glamorous tasks that keep Ethereum stable.

In this way, when people build on it, the things they create have the chance to be truly “extraordinary.”

Thank you for accompanying us all the way,

Thank you for being willing to believe in such an open system,

Thank you for building the next step together.

Ethereum is a ladder, and we will climb up together.

Q&A Session

Q: Is Bulbasaur really your favorite Pokémon?

This is the question with the highest votes.

The answer is: Bulbasaur is not only my favorite Pokémon, it is the strongest Pokémon.

I also think Bulbasaur is a great “coordinator”; in a sense, this is very similar to Ethereum:

Win by coordination.

Q: What is the one thing you are most looking forward to in 2026? Is it one thing or many things?

I think 2026 will continue the trend that started in 2025, more like a “second phase” of 2025.

We will see more real-world adoption:

More people are using Ethereum in their daily lives, using DeFi protocols, and using open zero-knowledge technology to solve practical problems.

Question: Do you think this ladder has become easier to climb?

For newcomers, I think the answer is “yes.”

The ladder is now quite stable for newcomers and it is easier to take the first step.

Of course, the further you go up, every new invention and every new step will still be full of challenges.

As long as we have this entire community, I believe we can overcome these challenges together.