The Ethereum Foundation has appointed longtime Ethereum contributor and security researcher pcaversaccio, commonly known as pc, to its Board. The appointment adds a prominent security, privacy and cypherpunk advocate to the organisation’s highest level of oversight as the Foundation continues reshaping its structure and long-term role within the Ethereum ecosystem.

The Foundation announced the appointment on July 29, 2026, describing pc as a contributor who has consistently defended Ethereum’s core principles, including censorship resistance, open-source development, privacy and security. His appointment expands the current Ethereum Foundation Board to four members: President Aya Miyaguchi, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, Swiss legal counsel Patrick Storchenegger and pcaversaccio.

Who Is pcaversaccio & Why Has He Joined the EF Board?

pcaversaccio is best known across the Ethereum ecosystem for his work in smart contract security, incident response, privacy advocacy and open-source research. He is the co-founder and lead of SEAL 911, an emergency coordination initiative that connects projects experiencing active security incidents with experienced security researchers and response specialists.

SEAL 911 emerged as an important resource in an industry where exploits can unfold within minutes and affected teams often struggle to identify trusted experts quickly. Rather than operating as a conventional security company, the initiative helps coordinate urgent support across the wider crypto security community.

His involvement in SEAL 911 gives pc direct experience with the practical consequences of vulnerabilities, compromised contracts and weak operational security. That perspective is particularly relevant as Ethereum attempts to support an onchain economy capable of handling significantly greater value.

The Foundation has already made security a central strategic priority. Initiatives such as the Trillion Dollar Security programme aim to improve wallet safety, smart contract security, infrastructure resilience and user protection. EtherWorld recently covered Ethereum’s introduction of Clear Signing to reduce the risks associated with blind transaction approvals.

pc has also been a member of the Ethereum Foundation’s Silviculture Society, a group that provides informal and confidential advice to the Foundation. The group focuses on sustaining the principles of censorship resistance, security, privacy and open-source development as Ethereum grows.

Beyond his technical work, pc authored The Ethereum Cypherpunk Manifesto in 2024 and Ethereum Privacy: The Road to Self-Sovereignty in 2025. These writings frame Ethereum not simply as a blockchain for financial applications, but as infrastructure intended to protect individual autonomy and reduce dependence on trusted intermediaries.

That philosophy closely aligns with the direction outlined in Vitalik Buterin’s 2026 vision for the Ethereum Foundation, which argued that the EF should remain one contributor among many rather than becoming the central authority of the ecosystem.

We’re pleased to welcome @pcaversaccio to the EF Board.

A longtime Ethereum contributor, co-founder of SEAL 911, Silviculture Society member, and privacy and security maximalist, pc has consistently championed the values at Ethereum’s core. We look forward to working together…

— Ethereum Foundation (@ethereumfndn) July 29, 2026

How the Ethereum Foundation Board Shapes Strategy

The Ethereum Foundation Board does not manage Ethereum itself. Ethereum is maintained through distributed participation involving client teams, researchers, validators, application developers and independent community members.

However, the Board plays an important role inside the Foundation as an organisation. According to the EF, it sets the Foundation’s vision and oversees whether high-level strategies and management decisions remain aligned with its stated values.

The Board also acts as a form of internal security council. Its responsibilities include protecting what the Foundation describes as its “heart and soul” while ensuring that the organisation complies with the legal requirements governing a Swiss foundation.

Following pc’s appointment, the Board consists of Aya Miyaguchi, Vitalik Buterin, Patrick Storchenegger and pcaversaccio. Aya Miyaguchi became President after previously serving as the Foundation’s Executive Director. EtherWorld covered the wider leadership transition in New Leadership at Ethereum: A Fresh Start for the Blockchain Community.

Her role has increasingly focused on long-term strategy, institutional continuity and protecting the Foundation’s values. In June, she explained why the EF was attempting to define its mission more clearly, as detailed in EF President Aya Miyaguchi Outlines New EF Direction.

The latest Board appointment follows several other leadership changes. Hsiao-Wei Wang, who had served as co-executive director and Board member, stepped down in June after years of work across Ethereum research, consensus development and community coordination. EtherWorld covered her departure in Hsiao-Wei Wang Steps Down From Ethereum Foundation Leadership.

The Foundation has also restructured its protocol leadership as Ethereum enters a new phase focused on scalability, user experience, resilience and long-term technical development. That transition was examined in Ethereum Foundation Restructures Protocol Leadership.

Security, Privacy & Cypherpunk Values Move Closer to the Centre

Ethereum has grown far beyond its early role as an experimental smart contract network. It now supports stablecoins, decentralised exchanges, lending platforms, tokenised assets, identity tools, Layer 2 networks and institutional applications. As the amount of activity and value secured by Ethereum increases, the consequences of technical and social failures also become greater.

Security is no longer limited to finding bugs in smart contracts. It includes wallet interfaces, transaction signing, block construction, validator infrastructure, bridges, Layer 2 governance, RPC access and the dependencies users rely on to interact with the network.

Privacy presents an equally significant challenge. Ethereum’s transparent ledger makes activity independently verifiable, but it can also expose users to surveillance, profiling and unwanted disclosure. The Foundation has increasingly argued that privacy should become a normal part of Ethereum rather than a specialised feature available only to advanced users.

That position was reflected in the Ethereum Foundation’s new strategic playbook, which placed privacy, censorship resistance, anti-MEV infrastructure, decentralised staking and self-sovereignty among the organisation’s major priorities.

The Foundation’s treasury strategy has also incorporated these principles. EtherWorld’s analysis of the Ethereum Foundation’s first treasury policy explained how the organisation linked capital management with permissionless finance, privacy, self-custody and decentralised infrastructure.

The EF has already begun using onchain tools to execute parts of that strategy. In April, it announced plans to convert 5,000 ETH into stablecoins through CoWSwap using a time-weighted execution mechanism intended to reduce market disruption.

Very excited to welcome @pcaversaccio to join us at the EF board! What he brings isn't just security and privacy expertise. He's a living example of what 100% CROPS alignment looks like in practice. Looking forward to the perspective he'll bring, and to being pushed to think much… https://t.co/zRCmYYuBSq

— Aya Miyaguchi (@AyaMiyagotchi) July 29, 2026

What the Appointment Means for Ethereum’s Future

pc’s appointment does not give him direct control over Ethereum’s protocol roadmap. Network upgrades continue to be discussed publicly through Ethereum’s research forums, developer calls, EIP processes and multi-client implementation work.

However, Board-level decisions can influence which areas the Foundation funds, coordinates and prioritises. These decisions affect research programmes, ecosystem grants, security efforts, privacy infrastructure and organisational partnerships.

Former Ethereum Foundation privacy contributors have already launched independent initiatives aimed at bridging these needs. EtherWorld recently reported that the former EF privacy team launched EthSystems, focusing on confidential settlement, identity and compliance infrastructure for institutions using Ethereum.

The Foundation is also revisiting the relationship between Ethereum Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks. Its updated approach recognises that L1 should preserve strong security and neutrality while L2s provide specialised execution environments. EtherWorld examined this strategy in Ethereum Foundation Redraws the Map Between L1 & L2.

At the organisational level, the EF is attempting to become more focused while reducing its central role. Its recent restructuring organised work around protocol, access, user, community and institutional layers, supported by management and operational functions.

The Foundation’s goal is not to lead every Ethereum initiative. Instead, it wants to concentrate on areas where neutral coordination, long-term research or defence of core principles may be difficult for commercial entities to provide.

Adding pc to the Board fits that model. Security incident response, censorship resistance and privacy infrastructure often require long-term coordination without an immediate commercial return. They are also areas where failure could undermine trust across the entire ecosystem.

His initial one-year voluntary term gives the Foundation an opportunity to bring an active community security perspective into its strategic discussions without transforming the position into a conventional corporate appointment.

The appointment may also reassure contributors who have questioned whether Ethereum’s values can survive its growing institutional and financial importance. EtherWorld previously examined these concerns when the Ethereum Foundation Mandate sparked debate about governance and decentralisation.

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Related Articles

1. Ethereum Foundation Restructures, Cuts Workforce by 20%
2. Ethereum Foundation Reveals Its New Playbook for Ethereum’s Future
3. Ethereum Foundation’s First-Ever Treasury Policy Explained
4. Ethereum Foundation Restructures Protocol Leadership
5. Ethereum Foundation Mandate Sparks Governance Debate

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