Key Highlights
- The Ethereum Foundation has reduced its workforce by 54 employees, roughly 20% of its staff.
- The restructuring concludes a months-long organizational review tied to its mandate and treasury management strategy.
- The foundation will now operate through five core work clusters, alongside operations and management teams.
The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has announced an organizational restructuring that includes the departure of 54 employees, approximately 20% of its workforce, as the organization seeks to become leaner and more focused on Ethereum’s long-term mission.
In a detailed X post on Tuesday, the foundation said the overhaul concludes a months-long process aimed at aligning its structure, activities, and spending with its broader mandate and treasury management policy. The organization said the changes are intended to strengthen execution on critical priorities while ensuring resources remain focused on areas where the foundation can have the greatest impact.
Ethereum Foundation introduces new structure
As part of the reorganization, the Ethereum Foundation will now operate through five primary work clusters: Protocol Layer, Access Layer, User Layer, Community Layer, and Institutional Layer. These will be supported by an Operations cluster and a Management cluster.
According to the foundation, each cluster will oversee Ethereum’s core technological development. Its priorities include protocol upgrades, privacy enhancements, reducing complexity, addressing toxic MEV, and advancing long-term initiatives such as post-quantum security, zkEVM, and Layer-1 privacy.
The foundation emphasized that its focus remains on preserving Ethereum’s core principles of decentralization, security, censorship resistance, and open-source development rather than pursuing short-term market appeal.
Recent departures from the foundation
The restructuring comes amid several notable departures from the Ethereum Foundation in recent months. In May, longtime contributor Carl Beek left the organization after nearly seven years, while fellow contributor Ma stepped down after four years.
More recently, former co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang announced she was stepping away from her leadership role, though she said she remains committed to supporting the Ethereum ecosystem. The leadership changes and workforce reduction reflect the foundation’s broader effort to realign its structure and priorities as Ethereum enters its next phase of development.
Meanwhile, Raman Shalupau, founder of CryptoJobsList, commented on the development, stating, “The Ethereum Foundation’s decision to restructure is a practical move that shows necessary organizational discipline during a bear market. While the exact breakdown of the impacted engineering versus research roles isn’t entirely clear yet, this sudden release of experienced professionals presents a unique opening for the broader ecosystem.”
He added, “Teams actively building on the protocol should look to connect with this talent, either to strengthen their own core teams or to collaborate on launching entirely new ventures.”
Focus on user experience and adoption
The restructuring also introduces dedicated teams focused on improving user access and adoption. The Access Layer cluster will focus on ensuring users can interact with Ethereum without depending on centralized intermediaries, while the User Layer will conduct research on user needs, educational initiatives, and ecosystem feedback.
The Community Layer will oversee the foundation’s public engagement efforts, relationships with broader open-source and privacy-focused communities, and communication of Ethereum’s values.
Meanwhile, the Institutional Layer will work with enterprises, governments, universities, nonprofits, and financial institutions exploring Ethereum-based applications. The foundation said this cluster will focus on promoting adoption while preserving Ethereum’s commitment to self-sovereignty, privacy, censorship resistance, and open access.
Industry-wide focus on efficiency
The Ethereum Foundation’s restructuring mirrors a broader trend across the technology and crypto sectors, where organizations are increasingly streamlining operations and prioritizing long-term execution.
Earlier this month, Robinhood announced plans to cut about 10% of its workforce, or roughly 290 employees, as part of an internal reorganization aimed at improving efficiency and accelerating execution. CEO Vlad Tenev said the move was not driven by financial challenges but by a desire to operate more effectively.
Against this backdrop, the Ethereum Foundation said its own restructuring is intended to sharpen focus on critical development priorities and reduce operational complexity as Ethereum continues to evolve.
The foundation said the changes are designed to support Ethereum’s long-term growth rather than respond to short-term market conditions, adding that the new structure will better position the organization to execute on its key objectives in the years ahead.
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