The Ethereum Foundation underwent its most significant reorganization in 2026, triggered by months of community criticism over governance, execution speed and technical priorities. The year saw the departure of co-executive directors, the elimination of 54 positions and a 40% budget cut, alongside the emergence of new independent organizations to take on roles previously held by the foundation.
Leadership changes and new mandate
The shakeup began in February when co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak announced he would step down after helping lead the foundation through initial restructuring. Weeks later, the foundation published a new mandate centered on the CROPS framework — censorship resistance, resilience, openness, privacy and security — repositioning itself as a long-term steward rather than the ecosystem's primary builder. Over the following months, nine senior leaders, researchers and executives left, marking one of the largest turnover periods in the foundation's 12-year history.
Major restructuring in June
The reset accelerated in June when co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang resigned. Days later, the foundation announced its largest restructuring, cutting roughly one-fifth of its workforce — 54 positions — and reducing its annual operating budget by about 40%. Remaining staff were reorganized into five core operating groups focused on areas the foundation said only it could support. Leadership insisted the changes were not a sign of decline but a necessary organizational reset.
Rise of independent organizations
June also saw the launch of ETHLabs, a new organization backed by several of the ecosystem's largest ETH treasury companies, aimed at accelerating protocol research and product development outside the foundation. In July, Ethereum Institutional was unveiled to support enterprises and asset managers adopting Ethereum. Later, EthSystems emerged as a for-profit company building confidential transaction infrastructure for financial institutions. These spinouts signaled a shift toward a more distributed ecosystem, with the foundation taking a narrower role.