Deep Tide TechFlow reported on January 2nd that, according to official news, the Ethereum Weekly (Week in Ethereum) (WiE), which has been established for nearly ten years, will officially cease updates on January 1, 2025. Founder Evan Van Ness revealed three main reasons for the cessation of updates:
Foundation's Attitude Shift: In early 2024, the leadership of the Ethereum Foundation (EF) expressed that they did not recognize the value of WiE, subsequently providing only symbolic funding. When EF completely terminated funding, WiE also ended its operations.
Business Model Dilemma: Van Ness stated that advertising and sponsorship revenue are difficult to sustain. The marketing departments generally do not value developer-focused marketing channels, and the high requirements for content quality make profitability challenging. He once rejected a sponsorship offer of 1000-2000 ETH from an ICO project in 2017 (the project's founder was later arrested), reflecting his commitment to content quality and ethical standards.
Ecological Value Bias: Van Ness added on Twitter that there is an issue within the Ethereum ecosystem of 'only valuing code development and research, while underestimating other contributions.' Although hundreds of people wish to take over or obtain WiE for free, this actually demonstrates the ecosystem's inadequate recognition of high-quality content value.
WiE was once one of the most important news sources in the Ethereum ecosystem at its peak, having a profound impact on the developer community. Many developers have told Van Ness at conferences that WiE helped them build their careers in Solidity development and security, even influencing their decision to buy ETH.
Van Ness finally stated that while some institutions are still willing to acquire or fund WiE, he believes this goes against the concept of public goods. 'Life is short, I want to focus on meaningful things. It has been a beautiful journey, but all beautiful things come to an end.'