Ethereum Foundation Restructures, Cuts Workforce by 20%

Ethereum Foundation restructures into five strategic layers, reduces its workforce by 20%, and refocuses on execution, sustainability, and Ethereum's long-term growth.

Ethereum Foundation Restructures, Cuts Workforce by 20%
Ethereum Foundation Restructures, Cuts Workforce by 20%

The Ethereum Foundation (EF) has completed a significant internal restructuring to better align the organisation with its recently formed Mandate and Treasury Management Policy. The changes are the result of a review process that lasted several months and was intended to improve the Foundation's ability to carry out projects that it believes are especially suitable for the EF.

The change comes with difficult trade-offs, including the loss of 54 workers, or around 20% of the Foundation's workforce. According to the organisation, the goal is to emerge with the teams, activities, and structure necessary to manage Ethereum's most significant opportunities and issues, even as it is becoming leaner.

EF Completes Months-Long Reorganization

Following the release of the EF Mandate in March 2026, a new Treasury Management Policy was implemented concurrently with the restructuring. The review's goal, according to the Foundation, was to identify the areas in which the EF can have the biggest influence and how its resources should be distributed to support those goals.

The Foundation claims that as a result of this process, it has a more defined organisational structure and a greater emphasis on execution. Instead of attempting to contribute to every facet of Ethereum's expansion, the EF is focusing on tasks that it believes are challenging for other ecosystem players to complete.

As part of the redesign, 54 employees are leaving the organisation. This represents roughly one-fifth of the Foundation's total staff. The EF acknowledged that these departures are challenging and thanked individuals affected for their work.

However, the Foundation did stress that it is expected that many departing colleagues will continue to be involved in Ethereum's ecosystem. It expects several former employees to continue supporting the network through independent research projects, client development teams, grant-funded projects, and other groups operating outside the EF itself.

The reorganisation also represents a more general move to become a more specialised organisation that can better address Ethereum's changing demands. The Foundation contends that making thoughtful decisions about what it does, does not do, and where it can offer the greatest value is necessary to improve execution.

EF Reorganizes Work Around Five Strategic Layers

A new organisational paradigm centred on five specialised work clusters is at the heart of the reorganisation. These layers are meant to reflect the areas in which the Foundation thinks it can make the biggest contributions while preserving Ethereum's robustness, decentralisation, and long-term growth.

  • The Protocol Layer continues to play a major role in Ethereum's technological advancement. Teams working inside this cluster will concentrate on creating the basic protocol, planning research, and supporting security, privacy, and scalability improvements. The Foundation states that preparing for post-quantum threats is one of the long-term priorities under this layer. Coordination between client teams and researchers will also be necessary to ensure that Ethereum's underlying infrastructure can continue to adapt to growing demand while preserving its decentralised features.
  • The Access Layer is concerned with how applications and users interact with Ethereum. This covers the platforms for submitting transactions, gaining access to blockchain information, and taking part in delegation processes. Because users rely more and more on wallets, RPC providers, and other services to communicate with the network, the Foundation sees this layer as crucial. Without sacrificing user control over assets and data, the EF aims to make Ethereum more dependable and user-friendly by enhancing these access points.
  • The User Layer is intended to help developers and individuals creating Ethereum applications overcome obstacles. Instead of focusing only on protocol-level enhancements, our team will examine the real-world application of Ethereum-based goods. According to the Foundation, if Ethereum is to accommodate a wider range of applications and draw in more users, it must improve usability for end users and reduce friction for creators.
  • The goal of the Community Layer is to improve ties among Ethereum's contributor network. This cluster's duties include assisting developers, fostering teamwork, organising educational programs, and keeping in touch with ecosystem groups, local communities, and researchers. This layer seeks to maintain and grow the distributed network of contributors that the EF has long relied on.
  • Lastly, the Institutional Layer shows how businesses, financial institutions, and legislators are becoming more interested in Ethereum. As institutional involvement grows, this group will interact with organisations implementing Ethereum infrastructure, take part in discussions about standards and regulations, and make sure Ethereum's values and priorities are reflected. The Foundation stated that the goal is to encourage responsible participation with participants acting on a bigger scale rather than to direct institutional activities.


Source: Ethereum

Dedicated operations and management teams will support all five tiers by offering organisational continuity, administrative support, and coordination.

Support Measures for Employees Leaving the Foundation

In addition to announcing the reorganisation, the Foundation described the actions it is taking to support departing staff.

According to the EF, a large number of those departing have years of expertise in Ethereum research, ecosystem building, and operational tasks. The Foundation sees these departures as a chance for talent to disseminate around the larger ecosystem rather than as a loss for Ethereum.

The organisation is assisting to help former employees find new employment in order to facilitate the transition. Severance plans, transition support, and initiatives to match departing employees with teams, projects, and organisations looking for seasoned contributors are all included in this aid.

According to the Foundation, several staff members are already looking into methods to be involved in Ethereum-related projects outside of the EF. Even though they are no longer formally employed by the Foundation, it anticipates that many of them will continue to contribute actively in the coming weeks.

Restructuring Linked to the EF Mandate & Treasury Policy

The execution of the EF Mandate and its Treasury Management Policy were closely linked by the Ethereum Foundation to its reorganisation. When combined, these frameworks are meant to clarify the Foundation's mission and direct the long-term allocation of financial resources.

Instead, by positioning the EF as a central authority, the Mandate aims to make it a custodian of Ethereum. The Foundation seeks to concentrate on tasks that are challenging to decentralise and where its participation might yield significant benefits for the ecosystem, rather than attempting to spearhead every endeavour.

The restructure was also shaped by Treasury reforms. The Foundation has expressed a desire to move toward a paradigm that places a higher priority on sustainability and long-term planning and to take a more disciplined approach to expenditure.

The Foundation feels that it is now better able to carry out crucial activities by cutting staff, focusing efforts within specialised work groups, and improving its operating structure. Although the reorganisation is a significant shift for the EF, it also signals the start of a new phase in which the organisation plans to function with more defined priorities, improved coordination, and a fresh focus on execution.

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