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Pascal Caversaccio is now on the Ethereum Foundation’s board. Known across the community as “pc,” he joins founder Vitalik Buterin, president Aya Miyaguchi, and Swiss counsel Patrick Storchenegger in a move that puts a serious security voice at the top of Ethereum’s governance structure.
The appointment isn’t happening in a vacuum. The Foundation has been through a rough stretch — a co-director left in June, the budget got slashed by 40 percent, and Buterin has been stepping back from day-to-day decisions. Staff cuts followed the budget cuts. Spending tightened across the board. And through all of it, Ether itself has been struggling, trading around $1,900 at the time of the announcement, a brutal drop from the $4,946 high it touched in August 2025. So the Foundation basically needed fresh energy at the leadership level, and Caversaccio seems to fit what they were looking for.
He’s not a stranger to Ethereum’s inner circles.
From SEAL 911 to Board Seat
Caversaccio co-founded SEAL 911, a rapid-response unit built specifically to help crypto protocols survive hacks and exploits in real time. Not theoretical threat modeling — actual live incident response, coordinating recovery across blockchain networks when things go sideways fast. That kind of hands-on crisis work is pretty rare at the board level, where most members tend to come from legal, financial, or academic backgrounds.
He also wrote “The Ethereum Cypherpunk Manifesto” in 2024, drawing directly on Eric Hughes’ original cypherpunk principles and applying them to blockchain. A follow-up came in 2025, pushing harder on themes of self-sovereignty and on-chain privacy. Those two pieces basically made his position clear: he believes Ethereum’s future depends on staying true to its privacy-first, censorship-resistant roots. The board appointment seems like a natural extension of that public stance.
Before getting a formal seat, Caversaccio was involved with the Silviculture Society, an informal advisory group that let him influence Ethereum’s direction without any official vote. That’s changed now. He’s got a real role, with real weight behind his input.
The position is unpaid and voluntary — same terms as the other board members.
What the Mandate Actually Requires
The Foundation’s board mandate, released earlier this year, spells out what the board is supposed to do: shape Ethereum’s long-term vision and make sure management decisions don’t drift from the Foundation’s core values. Those values — censorship resistance, privacy, open-source software — are basically the same things Caversaccio has been writing and talking about for years. So the fit looks genuine, not just cosmetic.
Miyaguchi welcomed the appointment publicly, specifically calling out his alignment with CROPS, the Foundation’s internal framework for contributor alignment. She also flagged his security and privacy expertise as a direct reinforcement of the board’s existing priorities. She didn’t elaborate much beyond that, but the framing was clearly enthusiastic.
Caversaccio will also share responsibility with Storchenegger for making sure the Foundation meets its obligations as a Swiss legal entity. That’s a less glamorous part of the job, but it’s real governance work, not just advisory input.
Security Focus at a Complicated Moment
The 40 percent budget cut is probably the most important piece of context here. Cuts that deep don’t just affect headcount — they reshape what an organization can actually prioritize. For the Ethereum Foundation, which funds core protocol research, developer tooling, and ecosystem grants, that kind of financial tightening creates hard choices. Caversaccio’s background in security and crisis response could matter a lot when resources are constrained and the Foundation can’t afford to be caught flat-footed by a major exploit or protocol vulnerability.
And Ethereum’s security stakes are enormous. The network underpins hundreds of billions in assets, a massive DeFi ecosystem, and growing institutional infrastructure. One serious vulnerability without a fast, coordinated response could be catastrophic — not just financially, but for the Foundation’s credibility.
Whether Caversaccio’s presence shifts the board’s priorities or just reinforces what’s already there is unclear yet. His background suggests he’ll push hard on privacy and security resourcing. But he’s one voice on a four-person board, and the budget constraints aren’t going away overnight.
What’s concrete: the Foundation cut 40 percent of its budget, lost a co-director, and is now adding a security expert to its board while Ether trades near $1,900.
Hub: Ethereum price, news, and analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Pascal Caversaccio and why did the Ethereum Foundation appoint him?
Pascal Caversaccio, known as “pc,” is the co-founder of SEAL 911 and author of “The Ethereum Cypherpunk Manifesto.” The Ethereum Foundation added him to its board for his security and privacy expertise, joining Vitalik Buterin, Aya Miyaguchi, and Patrick Storchenegger.
What is SEAL 911 and what does it do?
SEAL 911 is a rapid-response unit co-founded by Caversaccio that helps crypto protocols recover from hacks and exploits, managing live incident responses and coordinating recovery efforts across blockchain networks.
