TechFlow reports on January 2: According to official announcements, the Ethereum weekly newsletter "Week in Ethereum" (WiE), which has been operating for nearly a decade, officially ceased updates on January 1, 2025. Founder Evan Van Ness revealed three primary reasons for the discontinuation:
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Shift in foundation stance: In early 2024, leadership at the Ethereum Foundation (EF) expressed skepticism about WiE's value, subsequently offering only token support. When EF fully terminated funding, WiE was forced to cease operations.
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Business model challenges: Van Ness stated that advertising and sponsorship revenue proved insufficient to sustain operations. Marketing departments generally undervalued developer-focused channels, and combined with his high standards for content quality, profitability became unattainable. He previously declined a sponsorship offer of 1,000–2,000 ETH from an ICO project in 2017 (whose founder was later arrested), demonstrating his commitment to content integrity and ethical standards.
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Ecosystem value misalignment: Van Ness added on Twitter that the Ethereum ecosystem exhibits a tendency to "prioritize coding and research while undervaluing other contributions." Although hundreds of individuals expressed interest in taking over or supporting WiE for free, this very fact highlights the ecosystem's inadequate recognition of high-quality content's value.
At its peak, WiE was one of the most influential news sources within the Ethereum ecosystem, profoundly impacting the developer community. Many developers have shared with Van Ness at conferences how WiE helped them build careers in Solidity development and security, and even influenced their decisions to purchase ETH.
Van Ness concluded by noting that although some organizations have recently expressed interest in acquiring or funding WiE, he believes doing so would contradict his principles regarding public goods. "Life is short. I want to focus on meaningful work. It’s been a wonderful journey, but all good things must come to an end."
