Ethereum Foundation leadership exodus continues with director’s departure
Ethereum Foundation co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang has stepped down immediately after a sabbatical, adding to a wave of leadership turnover at the organization. Vitalik Buterin said she held one of the most difficult roles in the foundation, alongside Tomasz Stanczak, who also left leadership earlier this year. The foundation has seen an estimated 19 layoffs and departures in 2024, with senior exits drawing the most attention. The departures come amid scrutiny over Ethereum’s talent retention, governance model, and market performance, as well as debate over how active the foundation should be in guiding the network. Buterin has defended the foundation’s limited role, saying it is “one node” in Ethereum rather than its center. The foundation has reaffirmed decentralization as its core mandate, aiming for a protocol that would keep functioning even if the foundation and current core developers disappeared.
