Crypto22 June, 20262 min read
Bitmine, Sharplink, and Joe Lubin Launch Ethlabs Nonprofit R&D Lab for Ethereum Institutional Adoption
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Five former Ethereum Foundation researchers launched Ethlabs as an independent nonprofit R&D lab. Bitmine, SharpLink, and Joe Lubin fund Ethlabs.
Ethlabs launches for Ethereum
A coordinated group of Ethereum ecosystem stewards announced the launch of Ethlabs, an independent, nonprofit research and development organization formed to ready Ethereum for the next phase of institutional adoption.
The funding effort is led by Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BMNR), Sharplink, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBET), Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin and other key ecosystem contributors including Anchorage, Octant and SNZ.
Ethlabs was cofounded by five former senior Ethereum Foundation researchers: Ansgar Dietrichs, Barnabé Monnot, Caspar Schwarz-Schilling, Josh Rudolf and Julian Ma.
In its early work, Ethlabs said it will center on what institutions need to move onchain at scale, including faster settlement, native issuance and cross-chain movement on robust infrastructure, capacity on mainnet and research that grounds ETH's monetary properties.
Backers and leadership quotes
Thomas "Tom" Lee, Chairman of Bitmine, said, "We believe Ethereum is positioned to grow significantly in adoption by institutions and by AI agents." Joseph Chalom, Chief Executive Officer of Sharplink, said, "We are at the beginning of an institutional supercycle on Ethereum, and the researchers behind this organization are the people who will make the network ready to carry it."
The announcement ties Ethlabs to a broader shift beyond the Ethereum Foundation, with the press release saying the Ethereum Foundation "refocuses on its core mandate and embraces a multi-node future" as Ethlabs emerges as one of several independent organizations advancing the network in parallel. The Defiant described the founding team as five former Ethereum Foundation researchers—Ansgar Dietrichs, Barnabé Monnot, Caspar Schwarz-Schilling, Josh Rudolf, and Julian Ma—launching Ethlabs as an independent non-profit R&D lab backed by Bitmine, Sharplink, and Joe Lubin.
Institutional stakes and independence
Ethlabs said its mission is to ensure the network is ready to absorb demand at scale, advancing a faster Ethereum with trustworthy interoperability so institutions building on Ethereum can do so with neutrality, resilience, privacy and security.
The Defiant framed Ethlabs’ thesis around credible neutrality, quoting the lab’s description: "Ten years of uptime and the lowest counterparty risk. Ground that cannot be pulled away by any one country, institution, company, or person."
The organization also emphasized that its research agenda would remain independent through an external grants administration process, with funding contributors receiving transparency reports but no direct control over technical priorities.
In a separate account, CoinDesk described Ethlabs as funded by SharpLink Gaming (SBET), Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), and Joe Lubin alongside Anchorage Digital, Octant and SNZ, while saying the organization is led by five former senior Ethereum Foundation contributors.