Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum Foundation, has announced a comprehensive restructuring of its leadership. This strategic change, which has been in the works for nearly a year, plans to improve the technical expertise of the foundation’s leadership and boosts its bond with various ecosystem actors.
Vitalik Promises ‘No Change’ in Core Thinking
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin mentioned that major changes are happening within the leadership of the Ethereum Foundation (EF), a nonprofit organization in Switzerland created by the blockchain’s original developers to help support and manage Ethereum’s development. Despite these changes, Buterin highlighted that the foundation’s main goals will remain unchanged.
In a tweet on X, he mentioned that these changes have been in progress for nearly a year. Some have been announced, while others are still underway.
Buterin explained that the restructuring aims to boost the technical expertise of the Ethereum Foundation’s leaders and enhance how they communicate with everyone involved in its ecosystem, from individual and corporate users to app developers, wallet providers, and Layer 2 solutions.
The changes also aim to attract new talent, speed up projects, and support app developers in maintaining essential values like privacy, open-source development, and freedom from censorship.
The co-founder explained that the restructuring won’t cover certain areas. He mentioned that there will be no shift in their mindset, no aggressive efforts to sway regulators, and no creation of a centralized group influenced by political agendas.
Vitalik said, “Become a highly centralized org, or even more of a “main character” within Ethereum: These things aren’t what EF does and this isn’t going to change. People seeking a different vision are welcome to start their own orgs.”
Buterin’s message follows recent critiques of the Ethereum Foundation’s actions and leadership, including from some prominent figures in the Ethereum community. Additionally, President-elect Trump’s decision to release his official memecoin on Solana instead of Ethereum on Friday night sparked new complaints across social media.
Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and CEO of Consensys, suggested new leadership for the Ethereum Foundation in a recent X post. He praised the current executive director, Aya Miyaguchi, but noted the need for change due to the changing industry.
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Recent leadership changes at the Ethereum Foundation include Danny Ryan, a key researcher behind Ethereum’s shift to proof-of-stake, who left in September 2024 after seven years. He was pivotal in leading projects like “The Merge” and launching the Beacon Chain in 2021. Lubin recommended Danny Ryan, a key figure in Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake, and Jerome de Tychey, president of Ethereum France, as co-leaders.
In January 2025, Hsiao-Wei Wang, who has been with the foundation since 2017 and contributed to core Ethereum research, joined the leadership team.
Lubin praised their potential to rejuvenate the foundation and highlighted de Tychey’s call for clearer communication to enhance Ethereum’s collaboration and adaptability.
