Ethereum Foundation Cuts 20% of Staff in Major Strategy Reset

Key Insights:

• Ethereum Foundation cuts 54 roles in a major structural overhaul.
• EF will now operate through five focused work clusters.
• ETHLabs launch shows Ethereum research moving beyond EF.

The Ethereum Foundation has completed a major restructuring that cuts 54 roles, equal to roughly 20% of its workforce. The move closes a months-long review tied to its updated mandate and treasury policy. It also lands during a tense stretch for Ethereum News.

Senior exits have raised fresh questions about governance, execution, and long-term leadership of protocols. The foundation says the new model will make its work leaner and more focused. Vitalik Buterin has also linked the cuts to a broader budget reset.

Ethereum Foundation Restructuring Creates Five Core Clusters

The Ethereum Foundation said the new structure separates work into five main clusters. These cover the protocol layer, access layer, user layer, community layer, and institutional layer. Operations and management teams will support those core areas.

Source: Ethereum Foundation Post (X)

The protocol layer keeps the strongest focus on Ethereum’s base system. Some of its functions are scaling, security, privacy, and censorship resistance. As more capital and users are onboarded to the blockchain, this is the area that still matters.

The access layer focuses on how users and builders reach Ethereum. It aims to keep credible paths open without relying only on intermediaries. The user layer then brings feedback from people and groups who depend on self-custody and open access.

The community layer will shape how EF presents its role to the wider market. The institutional layer will work with banks, enterprises, universities, governments, and policy groups. Its job is not just adoption. It must also protect openness, privacy, and the ability to exit closed systems.

Ethereum Foundation Cuts Staff After Leadership Pressure

The Ethereum Foundation said 54 employees are leaving as part of the change. Departing workers will receive severance and transition support. The package includes the higher amount between local law and one month of pay for each year worked.

The foundation said affected staff may still contribute to Ethereum from elsewhere. That matters because some departing employees have deep technical knowledge. Still, the cuts reduce internal capacity at a sensitive time.

The move follows months of leadership turnover. As reported by The CoinRepublic, Hsiao-Wei Wang stepped down as co-executive director earlier in June. Tomasz Stańczak had also left the role before that. Bastian Aue has taken a larger role in the transition and daily operations.

About nine senior figures have left or shifted out since January, according to Ethereum news. Critics argue that Ethereum needs clearer execution as rival networks compete for users, developers, and liquidity.

Ethereum News Turns to ETHLabs and Budget Discipline

The staff reduction comes as development work moves beyond one central organization. ETHLabs launched as a nonprofit research and development group with ecosystem backing. Its supporters include BitMine Immersion Technologies, SharpLink Gaming, and Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin.

That launch shows how Ethereum research may become more distributed. It also suggests that large ETH treasury firms want a direct role in funding technical progress. This could reduce pressure on EF. However, it may also raise new questions about influence.

Buterin has framed the reset as a long-term sustainability move. He said the foundation plans to cut its budget by roughly 40% this year. He also described a shift from spending about 15% of treasury assets yearly toward about 5% after 2030.

The budget reset may change how grants, events, privacy work, and client development are funded. Buterin said Devcon may become smaller and cheaper. Privacy and Scaling Explorations is also being wound down as a standalone unit.

The Ethereum Foundation still says its ambitions for the protocol remain high. Its new structure points toward a smaller EF focused on core tasks.

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