Ethereum Foundation cuts 20% of staff amid leadership exodus

Jun 23, 2026, 1:45 p.m. 2 min readSummaryThe Ethereum Foundation is cutting roughly 20% of its workforce, eliminating 54 positions as part of a months-long restructuring tied to its updated mandate and treasury strategyA spate of senior leadership departures in recent months has raised questions about the Foundation's governance and execution.The cuts come as Ethereum's ecosystem evolves in different directions: while the foundation narrows its focus around core priorities and institutional engagement, major ETH treasury companies and co-founder Joseph Lubin are backing ETHLabs, a new initiative aimed at accelerating Ethereum development and adoption.The Ethereum Foundation is cutting roughly 20% of its workforce, eliminating 54 positions as part of a broad restructuring that comes amid sustained senior leadership turnover and growing fragmentation across the wider Ethereum ecosystem.The layoffs, announced Tuesday in a blog post, conclude a months-long internal reorganization tied to the implementation of the Foundation’s updated mandate and treasury policy. The EF said the reduction leaves it “leaner and more focused,” with a structure aligned around what it described as the “critical tasks” needed to support Ethereum’s long-term development.The reduction follows a period of significant upheaval at the organization’s leadership level. Co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang stepped down earlier this month, following the prior departure of co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak. Board member Bastian Aue has since assumed expanded responsibilities overseeing the transition and day-to-day operations.In total, roughly nine senior figures have left or transitioned out of the Ethereum Foundation over the past six months, fueling scrutiny of the organization’s governance model and performance as Ethereum faces intensifying competition from rival blockchain ecosystems.While the EF shrinks, a separate ecosystem effort backed by some of Ethereum’s largest corporate holders is expanding.On Monday, BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink Gaming, two of the largest publicly traded Ethereum treasury companies, alongside Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, announced support for ETHLabs, a new non-profit research and development initiative aimed at accelerating Ethereum’s technical roadmap and institutional adoption.As part of the restructuring, the EF has grouped its work into five clusters, including a dedicated institutional layer focused on enterprise engagement, financial infrastructure, and policy coordination.A representative for the Ethereum Foundation did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.Read more: Ethereum Foundation talent exodus sparks fresh debate over leadership12345678910