- •The Ethereum Applications Guild (EAG) is co-initiated by Vitalik Buterin and Dr. Xiao Feng to foster collaboration across global Ethereum builders and communities.
- •EAG evolved from Shanhaiwoo’s three-year experiment, focusing on structured co-creation and sustainable mechanisms for Ethereum’s real‑world application growth.
- •With Shanhaiwoo as its innovation hub, EAG invites global developers, Layer‑2 teams, and institutions to co‑create Ethereum’s next phase of application‑driven expansion.
Vitalik Buterin and Dr. Xiao Feng launch the Ethereum Applications Guild (EAG) at Token2049 to unite global builders and accelerate Ethereum’s shift toward a new, application‑driven era.
Singapore, October 2, 2025 — During the globally watched Token2049 Summit, Vitalik Buterin, co‑founder of Ethereum, and Dr. Xiao Feng, Chairman and CEO of HashKey Group, jointly initiated the “Ethereum Applications Guild” (EAG) initiative. This initiative aims to unite developers, researchers, communities and institutions within the Ethereum ecosystem to build an open, transparent, and sustainable collaboration mechanism.
The goal is to accelerate the development and real‑world application of native projects, propelling the Ethereum ecosystem from an “infrastructure‑dominated” phase into a new “application‑driven” era.
ORIGIN: EXPLORATIONS AT SHANHAIWOO, THE PROTOTYPE OF EAG
This initiative builds upon the three‑year collaborative experiment at “Shanhaiwoo.” Established in 2023, as a native collaborative space initiated and supported by Dr. Xiao Feng, Shanhaiwoo has hosted global builders in locations including Beidahu, China; Chiang Mai, Thailand; and Singapore, fostering global collaboration in fields such as AI, crypto, public chain ecosystems, and public goods.
Through three years of practice and accumulation at Shanhaiwoo, participants have come to a deep recognition: the Ethereum ecosystem lacks neither technology nor imagination. What is truly missing is a sustainable, structured co‑creation mechanism. Public goods and community support funds remain limited, and large‑scale, real‑world applications have yet to materialize. The EAG concept emerges from Shanhaiwoo’s explorations, drawing on accumulated insights to address these fundamental structural needs in application deployment, public goods support, and cross‑border collaboration.
VISION: BUILDING COLLABORATIVE MECHANISMS TO ACCELERATE REAL‑WORLD APPLICATION DEPLOYMENT
EAG is not a traditional foundation or accelerator, but an open initiative aimed at building a global collaborative network for Ethereum‑native applications. With Shanhaiwoo as its primary application incubation ground, it encourages developers to build, validate, and advance solutions towards real‑world problems. Rather than establishing a new organizational entity, this initiative proposes a conceptual framework for a new generation of collaboration paradigms for Ethereum ecosystem builders.
A CALL TO ACTION: INVITING GLOBAL ETHEREUM BUILDERS FROM EAST TO WEST TO COLLABORATE
At the event, Dr. Xiao Feng stated: “The initiative of the EAG marks a pivotal moment for the application layer of Ethereum breaking out of its shell. The establishment of this initiative aims to unite the power of all parties, embracing the ‘1995 moment’ for Ethereum as well as the entire blockchain world—which belongs to a new era of application explosion. HashKey will continue its unwavering commitment to building the Ethereum ecosystem and welcomes more native applications to grow on HashKey Chain L2, jointly enriching Ethereum’s application layer.”
Ethereum co‑founder Vitalik Buterin attended the event and co‑initiated this initiative. During his speech at Shanhaiwoo Singapore the previous day, Vitalik stated: “I hope to see more long‑term community builders, like Shanhaiwoo—especially those focusing on the application layer—choose Ethereum as their foundational infrastructure and work together to bring the ecosystem closer to real‑world adoption.”
AN INVITATION TO THE GLOBAL ETHEREUM ECOSYSTEM
The EAG initiative is currently in its early stage of consensus‑building. The guild sincerely invites ETH treasury organizations, technology companies, Layer‑2 teams, developer communities, protocol foundations, and research institutions worldwide to join. By bringing together diverse stakeholders, EAG aims to co‑create a new paradigm for Ethereum applications—driven by authentic, bottom‑up collaboration—and help the ecosystem evolve from the infrastructure era into a golden age of real‑world impact.
Join the Initiative: contact@shanhaiwoo.com