The Ethereum Foundation has seen another high-level personnel change. Co-Executive Director Wang Xiaowei announced her departure, becoming the second co-head to leave the organization this year. She had worked at the foundation for nearly 10 years and took a brief leave of absence before leaving, during which interim co-executive director Bastian Aue handled the transition.
The second co-chairman left this year.
Wang Xiaowei stated that after a period of rest, she believes now is the right time for her to step down. With her departure, Bastian Aue now serves as the sole executive director of the Ethereum Foundation.
Previously, another co-executive director, Tomasz Stanczak, had left in February of this year, after serving for less than a year. The departure of two co-heads has brought further attention to the foundation's management reshuffle.
Several core members have resigned in recent months.
In addition to senior management, several core members of the Ethereum Foundation have left in recent months. John Stark, an executive team member responsible for operations and writing, departed in April 2026.
The changes to the protocol and its core research team were more concentrated. Protocol lead Tim Beiko left in May, as did former lead developer Barnabe Monnot in the same month. Carl Beekhuizen, Julian Ma, Tren Van Epps, Pablo Voorvaart, and Alex Stokes, co-lead researcher for the protocol, also left in May.
According to the article, approximately 18 people have left or departed from the foundation. This round of staff reductions coincides with Vitalik Buterin's proposal to build a "simplified Ethereum." He advocates for advancing network development without sacrificing security and hopes that more external participants will jointly shape the direction of Ethereum in the future.
Subsequent upgrades and progress are attracting attention.
Currently, Ethereum still has many tasks to complete, with the next major upgrade being Glamsterdam. Market focus is on whether the continued personnel losses will affect the upgrade schedule, especially given the simultaneous contraction of resources in research, protocol design, and execution.
Rejamong, an analyst at research firm Four Pillars, questioned whether the Ethereum Foundation can push its current roadmap far enough given its declining influence, funding, and talent pool. He also noted that in the worst-case scenario, core tasks such as post-quantum migration could face slowdowns or even stall.
The analysis also suggests that if the foundation's ability to advance its efforts weakens, Ethereum may become more conservative in the future, and its evolution may slow down, which will affect investors' judgment of ETH's long-term value.
ETH fell to around $1700
As of press time, ETH was trading at approximately $1700. The report noted that amid a broader crypto market correction, market sentiment indicators have shifted from "neutral" to the "fear" zone, with a reading of 35.
However, it is currently impossible to confirm whether the personnel changes at the foundation directly contributed to this wave of negative sentiment. In the short term, the market is more concerned about the foundation's future organizational stability and whether upgrades such as Glamsterdam can proceed as planned.
