The Ethereum Foundation (EF), the organization that supports the Ethereum blockchain, is cutting about 20% of its workforce and removing 54 jobs as part of a major restructuring, according to a blog post by the Ethereum Foundation. The layoffs were announced on Tuesday and are part of a months-long internal reorganization that is linked to the Foundation’s updated goals and treasury policy.
The Ethereum Foundation said the job cuts will make the organization “leaner and more focused” and help it concentrate on Ethereum’s future growth. The restructuring comes as the Ethereum Foundation is going through changes in its leadership and facing growing criticism over the way the organization is being run.
Ethereum leadership changes
Earlier this month, co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang stepped down from her role. Before Wang’s departure, co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak had also left the organization, as noted by CoinDesk. Following these exits, board member Bastian Aue has taken on more responsibilities and is now helping oversee the Foundation’s transition and daily operations.
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In the last six months, around nine senior leaders have either left or moved out of their positions at the Ethereum Foundation. The large number of leadership departures has raised questions about the Foundation’s governance structure and overall performance. The scrutiny comes as Ethereum faces stronger competition from other blockchain networks that are trying to attract developers, users, and investors. While the Ethereum Foundation is reducing staff, another Ethereum-related initiative is expanding its activities.
ETHLabs expansion plan
On Monday, BitMine Immersion Technologies and SharpLink Gaming, two major publicly traded companies holding Ethereum in their treasuries, announced support for a new project called ETHLabs, as per CoinDesk.
Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin is also backing ETHLabs, which is a new non-profit research and development initiative that aims to speed up Ethereum’s technical progress and encourage more institutional adoption of the blockchain.
As part of the restructuring, the Ethereum Foundation has reorganized its operations into five main work clusters. One of these new clusters will focus specifically on institutions, including enterprise partnerships, financial infrastructure development, and policy coordination.
The Foundation believes this new structure will help it better support Ethereum’s long-term roadmap and ecosystem growth, as cited by CoinDesk. The layoffs mark one of the biggest organizational changes at the Ethereum Foundation in recent years and highlight efforts to streamline operations while Ethereum continues to compete in the rapidly evolving blockchain industry.
