Ethereum Foundation lays off 20% of workforce in major restructuring

Ethereum Foundation has cut roughly 20% of its workforce, eliminating 54 positions as part of a sweeping organizational overhaul tied to its long-term development strategy.

According to the Ethereum Foundation, the workforce reduction concludes a months-long restructuring process carried out under the organization’s Mandate and Treasury Management Policy, leaving the foundation with a smaller team focused on what it described as its most important responsibilities in the years ahead.

In the June 23 X post, the foundation said the changes were designed to better align people, resources, and operations with work that only the Ethereum Foundation can perform. The organization acknowledged the scale of the layoffs, stating that 54 employees, or about one-fifth of its staff, are departing as part of the reorganization.

The announcement arrives during a period of transition for Ethereum’s leadership and technical roadmap. As reported by crypto.news, last week, Hsiao-Wei Wang stepped down as co-executive director and board member of the Ethereum Foundation with immediate effect.

The workforce reduction was announced during a period of market weakness for Ethereum. ETH traded around $1,650 after a wider crypto market downturn sparked significant liquidations across digital assets.

New structure centers on five core divisions

Under the revised framework, the Ethereum Foundation has reorganized itself into five primary areas: protocol, access, user, community, and institutional. Separate teams will continue handling management and operational functions.

The protocol division will remain responsible for Ethereum’s core technology and will continue overseeing work related to decentralization, privacy, security, and censorship resistance, according to the foundation. Other divisions will focus on user experience, ecosystem participation, community engagement, and institutional adoption.

At the same time, Ethereum developers are preparing several major protocol upgrades. Crypto.news previously reported that the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade includes work on Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation and Block-Level Access Lists. These changes are intended to increase transparency in block production and improve how Ethereum clients process data.

Alongside Glamsterdam, Ethereum development teams are also working on gas repricing, Layer 1 scaling initiatives, privacy improvements, and future security enhancements.

Support measures accompany staff reductions

While announcing the layoffs, the Ethereum Foundation said affected employees will receive severance packages and transition assistance. The organization added that departing staff will be offered career support to help them pursue opportunities elsewhere in the Ethereum ecosystem.

Additional grants will also be made available to help cover career transition expenses, according to the foundation.

The organization emphasized that the restructuring was driven by resource allocation decisions rather than short-term market conditions. 

“These decisions were hard, but they are necessary. We must be resourced and organized in a way that allows us to focus on the critical work that only EF can, and therefore must, do in the coming years, without excessive disruption from short-term market movements.”

The workforce reduction follows a period in which several crypto-focused organizations have downsized operations.

Earlier in May, crypto media company Bankless faced criticism after reportedly laying off most of its staff without publicly announcing the cuts, while co-founder Ryan Sean Adams described the development on X as the end of the media platform’s first era.

Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation said additional details about its new organizational structure and future plans will be released over the coming weeks and months.