Introducing the Algorand Ecosystem Advisory Council (EAC)

January 20, 2026

As part of our ongoing commitment to strengthening our strategic positioning and growth, on January 14, 2026, the Foundation announced our relocation to the United States and welcomed new members to the Board of Directors.

Because we know that the network’s long-term success is fundamentally linked to a healthy, active ecosystem, we also announced the formation of the Algorand Ecosystem Advisory Council (EAC).

The EAC’s mandates are to solicit and deliver broad-based ecosystem feedback to the Foundation, on the one hand, and to give guidance on the ecosystem impact of Foundation proposals on the other. Establishing a more formal bridge between the ecosystem and Foundation leadership will create greater transparency and collaboration as we navigate the network’s future together.

The EAC scope

The Ecosystem Advisory Council is designed to serve as a structured, productive forum that strengthens communication between the Algorand ecosystem and the Foundation leadership, including the Board of Directors. The Council’s core purpose is to ensure that perspectives from across the ecosystem are heard, synthesized, and reflected in ongoing decision-making.

The EAC will:

Assess and represent ecosystem health: The EAC will deliver written assessments of the ecosystem’s overall health, needs, and emerging opportunities directly to the Foundation Board of Directors for consideration, at least annually and more frequently as needed.
Provide substantive input on protocol decisions: The Foundation will bring key protocol proposals (e.g., governance, sustainability) to the EAC before presenting them to the community; the EAC will be tasked with reviewing and providing substantive feedback.
Share community feedback: The EAC will create a forum for gathering feedback from across the ecosystem in a balanced, broadly representative manner, and will relay relevant needs, concerns, and sentiments of the Algorand community to Foundation leadership.

The EAC will meet among itself regularly, and virtually with Foundation leadership at least twice per year.

EAC representation

To ensure diverse representation, the EAC will have nine seats for members selected from key sectors of the ecosystem:

Three Community Representatives: For our inaugural EAC, these seats are held by the top three vote recipients from the 2025 xGov council election. Following a six-month term, the Foundation will hold a general governance election to elect future Community Representatives.
Three Ecosystem Project Representatives: Leaders from the three largest ecosystem projects, ranked by Total Value Locked (TVL).
Two Principal Staker Representatives: Representing the interests of the principal stakers.
One Chairperson: A dedicated lead who facilitates communication between the EAC and the Foundation Board.

Inaugural members

We are pleased to welcome the following individuals to the inaugural Ecosystem Advisory Council:

Community Representatives (the top three vote-getters from the 2025 xGov council election): Simon Belingar (Cosmic Champs), Patrick Bennett (TxnLab), and Uroš Hudomalj (Valar Solutions).
Ecosystem Project Representatives (Leading Projects by TVL): Jerry Chu (Lofty), Benedetto Biondi (Folks Finance), and Fergal Walsh (Tinyman).
Principal Staker Representatives: To be determined.
Chairperson: Paweł Pierścionek (Urtho) from Nodely. Urtho will also serve as the technical advisor to the board.

What comes next

The EAC will hold its first meeting before the end of Q1. We look forward to valuable insights from the EAC as we work together to strengthen and grow the Algorand ecosystem.

Learn more

Learn more about the Algorand Foundation Board of Directors and our governance initiatives:

Introducing the new Algorand Foundation Board of Directors: Read the post.

Algorand’s 2025 roadmap - building for real-world use: Read the post.

2025 guide to Algo crypto staking and governance: Learn more.