Ethereum Foundation loses two more researchers in latest wave of departures.

Portalcripto2026/05/20 02:42

By:Portalcripto

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Ethereum Foundation faces new resignations of key researchers.
Ethereum accelerates internal reorganization after community criticism.
Researchers leave Ethereum amid strategic shifts.

The Ethereum Foundation reported further losses to its technical team on Monday, after researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma confirmed their departures from the organization. These resignations add to a series of internal changes at the entity responsible for Ethereum's development, amidst community demands regarding scalability, governance, and the network's technical direction.

Carl Beek announced his decision after seven years of service at the Ethereum Foundation. The researcher gained prominence for his contributions to the Beacon Chain, a central piece in Ethereum's transition to the proof-of-stake model, completed in recent years.

“To all the researchers, core developers, EF members, and the community, whether we’ve worked closely together or not: thank you so much,” Beek said on X. “The strength of Ethereum is, and always will be, the people behind it, who strive to make it what it is. I’m grateful to have spent these years among you.”

Beek also announced that his last day with the organization will be May 29th. According to him, the decision comes after recent personal changes, including the birth of his son last month.

Julian Ma also confirmed his departure from the Ethereum Foundation after approximately four years working on research related to cryptoeconomics, scalability, and protocol design. Among his best-known contributions is the co-authorship of FOCIL (EIP-7805), a proposal aimed at increasing censorship resistance on the Ethereum network.

Ma also participated in the implementation of the so-called Quick Confirmation Rule, a mechanism that reduced the connection time between layer 2 solutions and the Ethereum mainnet to 13 seconds.

These new departures add to a series of resignations recorded in recent months. Among those who left the organization are Tomasz K. Stańczak, former co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, Josh Stark, as well as researchers Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko, who were part of the Protocol team.

Another prominent name who stepped down was Trent Van Epps, known for creating the Protocol Guild, an independent funding organization for Ethereum core developers. Alex Stokes, former co-leader of the Protocol team, also recently went on sabbatical.

In 2025, the Ethereum Foundation initiated a broad internal reorganization following growing criticism regarding technical execution and competitiveness against other blockchains. Part of the community began demanding faster answers regarding network scalability and operational efficiency.

In this context, Vitalik Buterin has taken a more active role in communicating the Ethereum roadmap. The founder recently reinforced the focus on increasing the capacity of the blockchain's base layer, reducing the previous emphasis on a strategy centered exclusively on rollups.

The Ethereum Foundation also faced controversy after reports that employees had been asked to sign pledges linked to the so-called CROPs values, an acronym for Resistance to Censorship, Open Source, Privacy, and Security. The issue sparked debate within the Ethereum community, especially after associations were made with the online community Milady.

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

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Bitget•2026/09/21 06:38