Ethereum Foundation core members collectively leave, "decentralization" or "breakup"?

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Author: Hristina Vasileva

Translation: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Guide: Between April and May 2026, at least six core members of the Ethereum Foundation (EF) resigned intensively, covering protocol engineering, cryptoeconomics research, and management. EF officials attributed this to active slimming down under the "Mandate" framework, but the community sees it as: core developers decreasing from 225 to 169, ETH holdings shrinking, Glamsterdam upgrade delayed. This Cryptopolitan report outlines the resignation list, EF restructuring logic, and the current state of ecosystem developers.

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has lost several key contributors, and doubts about the organization’s direction and Ethereum’s future have intensified. This wave of departures occurred just a year after Tomasz Stańczak stepped down as co-CEO of EF.

In April and May, six contributors left or went on long-term leave. The departures mainly focused on the foundation’s core engineering team and research department.

Some of these engineers come from the Protocol Cluster responsible for Ethereum L1 design. This department underwent restructuring, with engineers Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko leaving successively.

Earlier, Josh Stark announced his departure after working at EF for 7 years; he was a co-chair of the "Trillion-Dollar Security Initiative." Trent Van Epps left EF after 5 years, having previously been involved in organizing the Protocol Guild, and will continue contributing to the broader ecosystem as a part-time contributor.

Wave of departures in May intensifies

Recently leaving EF is Carl Beek, who worked at the foundation for 7 years and was a key figure during the Beacon Chain launch phase.

Julian Ma also recently resigned; he spent 4 years researching cryptoeconomics at EF, focusing on mechanism design.

These two departures have attracted greater attention within the Ethereum community, and discussions about EF’s future direction have escalated. The foundation’s public statements have consistently emphasized "overall support for the ecosystem," deliberately downplaying its role as a central authority.

The departure of core members does not directly indicate that Ethereum itself has problems. However, these resignations have sparked discussions about leadership, coordination mechanisms, and what "decentralization" truly means.

Developer activity still has a foundation

Despite high-level personnel turbulence, Ethereum’s developer activity remains resilient. Token Terminal data shows the project currently has 169 core developers, a 63% increase over the past month. However, over a longer period, core developers have decreased from 225 in May 2025 to 169 on May 19, 2026.

Caption: Ethereum core developers have slightly rebounded in the past month but have decreased from 225 in May 2025 to 169.

Source: Token Terminal

The total number of ecosystem developers has fallen behind Solana. However, according to Chainspect data, there are still 9,744 active developers in the Ethereum ecosystem.

EF is advancing restructuring according to its newly released Mandate document, adjusting its development direction. One of the core goals of the Mandate is to reduce the foundation’s direct influence, which itself involves parting ways with some key contributors.

Another real issue EF faces is the shrinking ETH reserves in its organizational wallet. The foundation currently holds 103,660 ETH, some of which have been staked, and some reserves sold to BitMine.

The timing of these departures is not ideal: Ethereum is being expected to become a key infrastructure layer for global finance. The team restructuring coincides with a peak period of attacks on decentralized projects, with Ethereum’s ecosystem bearing the brunt.

Following these developments, ETH’s price has hovered at the bottom range, with a 40% decline over the past year. As of press time, ETH is trading at $2,117.02, despite 31% of circulating supply being staked in Beacon Chain contracts.