Ethlabs has launched as a nonprofit research and development lab focused on Ethereum, ETH, DeFi, and adoption, positioning itself as an independent organization aimed at turning ecosystem needs into protocol work, shared standards, infrastructure, and products.
Ethlabs Debuts Ethereum R&D Lab to Drive Adoption
Ethlabs announced the initiative in a public X post, describing the organization as “a non-profit R&D lab for Ethereum and ETH” with a mission “to make Ethereum the settlement layer of the global economy.” The group framed its launch around a broader shift in digital finance, arguing that as assets, markets, and value move onchain, shared settlement infrastructure will become increasingly important.
“The internet became global because shared protocols created a common language between networks. Private systems remained useful, but bounded. Finance is approaching a similar moment,” Ethlabs wrote. The organization added that “as value, assets, and markets become digital, the world needs shared settlement infrastructure,” presenting Ethereum as a neutral base layer for users, institutions, and agents to transact without intermediation.
Ethlabs said it plans to work across applications, wallets, layer-2 networks, infrastructure teams, institutions, ETH holders, core developers, and researchers. Its stated operating model is to sit between builders using Ethereum in production and the protocol teams responsible for maintaining and improving the network, then translate those needs into R&D priorities and shipped products.
New Nonprofit Targets ETH, DeFi, and Core R&D
The group’s announcement placed ETH and DeFi at the center of its mandate. Ethlabs described ETH as “the most valuable, programmable store of value,” citing broad distribution, deep onchain liquidity, and its role as a trust-minimized asset on Ethereum. It also said DeFi matters because markets, liquidity, credit, exchange, and coordination can be made open to anyone.
“We believe credible neutrality matters. Ten years of uptime and the lowest counterparty risk. Ground that cannot be pulled away by any one country, institution, company, or person,” Ethlabs wrote. In the same announcement, the lab said adoption is central to its work, adding that “principles do not change the world until people benefit from them.”
Barnabé Monnot, who described himself as a core steward of Ethereum Protocol R&D, said he is joining Ethlabs to help grow Ethereum and ETH. “The network and the asset are entering a new age of adoption, and this is a shift we cannot miss. More capital is coming onchain, both institutional and retail, through the portals of DeFi, stablecoins, prediction markets, agents, and many other venues. I want a world where this capital powers greater wealth, where the system is transparent and verifiable, while value remains private and uncensorable,” Monnot wrote.
Ethlabs is launching with backing from a broad set of Ethereum ecosystem participants, including anchor funders Bitmine, Sharplink, and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin, as well as contributors such as SNZ, Octant, Anchorage Digital, and Konstantin Lomashuk. The organization also listed more than 50 community supporters spanning Ethereum Foundation researchers, DeFi founders, L2 teams, investors, infrastructure builders, and academics. Haseeb Qureshi of Dragonfly described the effort as a new Ethereum organization focused on accelerating adoption and protecting DeFi, while disclosing that Dragonfly holds ETH and that he is supporting Ethlabs personally:
“New Ethereum org just dropped. While the EF is shrinking its mandate and more focused on protecting Ethereum’s core properties, a group of EF builders have spun out to create a second org. Its mandate is simple: accelerate Ethereum. Increase adoption. Protect DeFi. Solve the biggest problems and make ETH the currency of the internet.”
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