Buterin and Xiao Feng Launch Ethereum Applications Guild, Aiming to Spur Shift Toward Application-Driven Growth

The Ethereum Applications Guild is a new collaborative initiative led by Vitalik Buterin and ￰0￱ Feng to accelerate Ethereum’s shift from infrastructure to large-scale, real-world dApps by providing structured co-creation frameworks, treasury coordination, and developer incubation based on lessons from Shanhaiwoo. Purpose: accelerate Ethereum’s transition from infra to applications. Structure: collaborative developer networks, treasury groups, Layer 2 teams, and research institutions. Backing: launched at Token2049; builds on Shanhaiwoo’s interdisciplinary incubator ￰1￱ Applications Guild launches to fast-track Ethereum ￰2￱ how Vitalik Buterin and Xiao Feng plan to scale dApps—read the roadmap and next ￰3￱ Buterin and ￰4￱ Feng launched the Ethereum Applications Guild to push Ethereum from infrastructure development toward large-scale, real-world applications using a structured, collaborative model informed by ￰5￱ Ethereum Applications Guild focuses on accelerating Ethereum’s transition from infrastructure development to application-driven ￰6￱ Guild leverages insights from Shanhaiwoo’s cross-disciplinary work to build collaborative structures for Ethereum ￰7￱ Buterin and Xiao Feng highlight the Guild’s role in pushing Ethereum into a new era, centered around large-scale ￰8￱ date: 2025-10-03 Updated: 2025-10-03 Author/Organization: COINOTAG What is the Ethereum Applications Guild?

The Ethereum Applications Guild is an initiative launched by Vitalik Buterin and ￰9￱ Feng to create a structured environment for developers, treasury groups, Layer 2 teams, and institutions to co-create large-scale, real-world Ethereum ￰10￱ Guild prioritizes practical deployment and coordinated funding for public ￰11￱ does the Guild build on Shanhaiwoo’s model? The Guild adapts Shanhaiwoo’s interdisciplinary incubator approach—originally tested in 2023—by formalizing collaborative lanes for developers across AI, crypto, public goods, and other ￰12￱ highlighted Ethereum’s structural gap: insufficient sustained funding and co-creation ￰13￱ Guild addresses this by coordinating stakeholders and providing a repeatable incubation ￰14￱ does Ethereum need an applications-focused shift now?

Ethereum’s recent evolution solved many core infrastructure problems, but large-scale applications remain ￰15￱ Guild argues the primary bottleneck is structural: fragmented funding, weak coordination between treasuries and builders, and a shortage of production-grade collaborative workflows. A focused applications strategy aims to unlock real-world ￰16￱ are the key backers and participants? Founders include Vitalik Buterin and ￰17￱ ￰18￱ participants are identified as treasury groups, research institutions, Layer 2 teams, and protocol foundations invited to form a bottom-up ￰19￱ initiative was announced at the Token2049 summit and is informed by Shanhaiwoo’s global developer cohorts spanning China to ￰20￱ will the Guild operate in practice?

The Guild will implement coordinated tracks for project selection, funding alignment, technical mentorship, and deployment ￰21￱ mechanisms include: Collaboration lanes: targeted cross-team cohorts focused on specific verticals (DeFi, Web3 public goods, identity, AI integration). Treasury coordination: aligning funding sources and milestones to support multi-stakeholder ￰22￱ & testing: environments to prototype and pilot production-grade ￰23￱ metrics will indicate success? Success indicators will include measurable adoption (active users, transaction volume), multiple production-ready dApps launched through Guild cohorts, sustainable treasury-backed public goods, and demonstrable interoperability across Layer 2 and protocol ￰24￱ Guild aims for durable outcomes rather than speculative launches. , Frequently Asked Questions Will the Guild fund public goods and open-source infrastructure?

Yes. A core aim is coordinated treasury support for public goods, reducing reliance on ad-hoc grants and improving long-term sustainability for shared infrastructure ￰25￱ can developers participate in the Guild? Developers will be invited to apply for cohort tracks focused on vertical use ￰26￱ includes mentorship, technical resources, and milestone-aligned funding to test and deploy native Ethereum ￰27￱ Takeaways Purpose: Move Ethereum from infrastructure to application-driven growth through structured collaboration. Model: Built on Shanhaiwoo’s interdisciplinary incubation with treasury alignment and cohort-based workflows.

Action: Stakeholders are encouraged to engage with Guild cohorts to accelerate production dApps and public ￰28￱ The Ethereum Applications Guild represents a strategic pivot to emphasize application-scale outcomes on ￰29￱ formalizing co-creation, aligning treasuries, and leveraging lessons from Shanhaiwoo, the Guild aims to catalyze production dApps and sustainable public ￰30￱ for cohort invitations and coordinated funding milestones as the initiative scales.