EPIC (Ethereum Public Infrastructure and Commons) is a team within the Ethereum Foundation. The views in this post are EPIC's, not an official Ethereum Foundation policy position. We focus on helping governments, multilateral organizations, and large NGOs explore Ethereum-based solutions in ways that strengthen public systems — without compromising decentralization, openness, or long-term resilience.
Who we are
We are a small, mission-driven team with backgrounds in public policy, institutional engagement, and Ethereum ecosystem building. We sit inside the Ethereum Foundation to access protocol expertise and ecosystem context. That placement does not make EPIC's public-sector judgments authoritative for the EF, for governments, or for users.
We work closely with the rest of the Foundation and with researchers and implementers who share our values. Our role is to publish open resources and answer questions — not to prescribe deployments or broker reputational capital.
Our vision
We envision a future where public institutions use Ethereum where it clearly adds value: as a neutral coordination layer for attestations and credentials, as a transparent backbone for registries and payments, and as infrastructure that can evolve without vendor lock-in or single points of failure.
That future is not automatic. It requires institutions that understand both the technology and the governance implications; implementers who can deliver robust, maintainable systems; and a global conversation that treats public infrastructure as a long-term commitment. User sovereignty — control of keys, selective disclosure, and credible exit — is the test; institutional convenience is not. EPIC exists to advance that vision by cultivating champions, supporting high-integrity pilots, and building coalitions that share Ethereum's values of openness and credible transparency.
How we work
We don't push technology for its own sake. We identify and support values-aligned leaders inside and around public institutions; we help scope and advise on pilots that demonstrate real utility; and we connect institutions with open standards and ecosystem resources. We maintain the EPIC map and publish templates and proof-of-concepts in the open. We do not operate a public expert roster or institutional pipeline on this site.
If you're inside a government, multilateral, or large NGO and are exploring where Ethereum might fit — or if you're a builder or researcher who wants to work on public-interest applications — we'd like to hear from you.
What EPIC will not do
EPIC will not prescribe architectures for governments or multilaterals. We publish patterns, questions, templates, and minimal proof-of-concepts; choosing a stack, vendor, or legal framework remains with institutions and affected users. EPIC will not lend Ethereum Foundation reputational capital to coerced enrolment. We do not treat mandatory digital ID, benefits gating without offline alternatives, or humanitarian registration without informed consent as successes to promote — regardless of whether they use Ethereum. EPIC will not treat institutional sovereignty as user self-sovereignty. A state or agency controlling keys, revocation, and verification endpoints is not "self-sovereign" because the ledger is public. Our unit of analysis is the person who must live with the system — not the institution that procures it.
Get in touch
For inquiries, opportunities, or feedback on the map and resources: epic@ethereum.org.