Ethereum Foundation Trims Workforce by 20% as Executive Departures Raise Concerns

The layoffs follow an extended period of turbulence within the Foundation’s leadership ranks.

The Ethereum Foundation is cutting approximately 20% of its workforce, eliminating 54 positions as part of a broad restructuring effort that comes amid ongoing executive turnover and increasing fragmentation across the wider Ethereum ecosystem.

Detailed Tuesday in a blog post, the move caps a months-long internal reorganization tied to the rollout of the Foundation’s revised mandate and treasury framework. The EF said the changes are intended to streamline operations and concentrate resources around the “core priorities” necessary to support Ethereum’s long-term development.

The restructuring comes against a backdrop of leadership disruption. Co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang stepped down earlier this month, following the earlier departure of co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak. Board member Bastian Aue has since taken on a larger role, overseeing both the transition and day-to-day operations.

In total, roughly nine senior figures have exited or transitioned out of the Foundation over the past six months, intensifying scrutiny of its governance model as Ethereum faces growing competition from rival blockchain networks.

While the Foundation is scaling back, other parts of the ecosystem are expanding. On Monday, BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink Gaming—two of the largest publicly listed Ethereum treasury firms—joined Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin in backing ETHLabs, a new non-profit initiative aimed at accelerating Ethereum’s technical roadmap and institutional adoption.

As part of the overhaul, the Foundation has reorganized its efforts into five key divisions, including a dedicated institutional unit focused on enterprise engagement, financial infrastructure, and policy coordination.

An Ethereum Foundation spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

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