A timeline of the Ethereum Foundation's ongoing shakeup

In 2026, the Ethereum Foundation underwent significant changes in response to growing criticism from developers, investors, and community members regarding its governance, technical priorities, and overall pace. Concerns centered around an overemphasis on layer-2 scaling solutions while base layer improvements were perceived as being neglected. This pressure culminated in a leadership transition beginning in February when co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak stepped down following an internal restructuring.

The foundation subsequently narrowed its mission through a new mandate focused on a framework called CROPS, emphasizing censorship resistance, resilience, openness, privacy, and security. Over the next few months, the organization experienced one of its largest waves of departures in over a decade, with nine key leaders, researchers, and executives leaving. Though leadership framed these changes as part of a necessary organizational reset rather than a sign of decline, the upheaval raised questions about the foundation's future role.

In June, the foundation carried out its biggest restructuring, cutting about 20% of its workforce—54 jobs—and slashing its annual operating budget by roughly 40%. Remaining staff were reorganized into five specialized groups focused on core responsibilities deemed unique to the foundation. This downsizing was accompanied by the rise of new, independent entities designed to take on roles the foundation had traditionally handled. These include ETHLabs, created to accelerate protocol research and development; Ethereum Institutional, focused on enterprise adoption through education and standards; and EthSystems, a for-profit aiming to build privacy-focused infrastructure for financial institutions on Ethereum.

Collectively, these developments mark the most extensive overhaul in the Ethereum Foundation’s 12-year history, reflecting a shift towards a leaner core entity that acts as a long-term steward of the ecosystem. Meanwhile, independent organizations are taking a greater role in protocol innovation, coordination, and institutional outreach. The evolving structure could lead to a more distributed governance model for Ethereum, with specialized groups contributing in complementary ways outside the foundation’s direct control.