A wave of departures from the Ethereum Foundation this spring has sparked concern within the community, but a long-time investor argues the exits are driven by internal strategy disagreements and a generational shift. Ryan Berckmans stated the Foundation remains deeply committed to Ethereum’s long-term success, countering perceptions that leadership does not care about the asset’s price.
A series of prominent exits from the Ethereum Foundation in recent months has prompted discussion about the organization’s direction. Community figure Ryan Berckmans has offered a detailed defense, arguing the departures are being misread.
According to Berckmans, “The EF departures are not because the people departing feel differently about Ethereum and our trajectory vs. the people staying at EF or vs. community folks like me.” He explained in a post that the exits stemmed from disagreements over sub-strategies and a deliberate generational turnover. He added that new, younger contributors are ready to step into leadership roles.
Berckmans also addressed the community perception that the Foundation and Vitalik Buterin do not care about ETH’s price. He stated they care deeply but across a much longer time horizon, focusing on questions like Ethereum’s post-quantum computer dominance. His conclusion was that the Foundation’s programs addressing these long-term questions are “gigabullish.”
The wave of exits included Carl Beek, Julian Ma, Barnabé Monnot, Tim Beiko, Trent Van Epps, Josh Stark, and former co-Executive Director Tomasz Stańczak. Stańczak’s departure drew attention as it occurred just 11 months after he took the role. The exits looked coordinated, with several of the more prominent departures landing within four weeks of each other in April and May.
Crypto researcher Nick Sawinyh pointed to unconfirmed claims circulating online that staff were asked to formally align with the Foundation’s new mandate. The Foundation has not publicly confirmed those claims, and none of the departing contributors cited the mandate as their reason for leaving. Meanwhile, many Ethereum backers believe the ecosystem can now take leadership changes in stride without posing a risk to the network.
Author William Mougayar described the Foundation’s shrinking role as a deliberate attempt to remove Ethereum’s remaining central point of control rather than a sign of institutional decline. The community’s focus also remains on the upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade to Ethereum, which includes changes tied to scaling and validator infrastructure.
