Is the Ethereum Foundation Falling Apart? Why Top Researchers Keep Walking Out the Door

TLDR

• Carl Beek and Julian Ma are the latest to resign from the Ethereum Foundation, extending months of high-profile departures.
• Earlier exits include Barnabé Monnot, Tim Beiko, Trent Van Epps, Alex Stokes, and co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak.
• The Foundation published a new internal mandate in 2025 outlining its CROPs values and redefining its role in the ecosystem.
• Staff were reportedly asked to sign a loyalty pledge following the mandate, which caused controversy.
• The wave of departures has raised community questions about the Foundation’s governance and future direction.

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The Ethereum Foundation is losing more of its core team. On Monday, Carl Beek and Julian Ma both announced they are leaving the organization, adding to a string of exits that has drawn attention across the crypto community.

🚨MORE ETHEREUM FOUNDATION RESEARCHERS RESIGN

Ethereum Foundation researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma have resigned, adding to a wider wave of exits.

Recent departures also include Protocol team figures Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko, Protocol Guild organizer Trent Van Epps, and… pic.twitter.com/FKFGQActXY

— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) May 18, 2026

Beek is departing after seven years. He is best known for his work on Ethereum’s Beacon Chain, which played a central role in the blockchain’s move to proof-of-stake consensus in 2022. He said his last day will be May 29.

Ma is leaving after around four years. His contributions included work on mechanism design, cryptoeconomics, and protocol scaling. He co-authored EIP-7805, a proposal aimed at strengthening censorship resistance, and led work that cut bridging time between Ethereum Layer 2s and mainnet down to 13 seconds.

The departures are the latest in a long list of exits. Tomasz Stańczak stepped down as co-executive director in February, less than a year after taking the role. Josh Stark left in March after seven years.

Other notable exits include Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko, two well-known figures in Ethereum’s core protocol work. Trent Van Epps, who helped organize Protocol Guild, a funding collective for Ethereum core developers, also left earlier this year. Alex Stokes, former co-lead of the Protocol cluster, announced a sabbatical earlier this month.

Last June, Péter Szilágyi left after roughly a decade at the Foundation. He created Geth, the most widely used Ethereum execution client.

What Changed Inside the Ethereum Foundation

The Foundation went through a restructuring in 2025 in response to community criticism. Members had raised concerns about the organization’s speed of execution, transparency, and support for the broader Ethereum ecosystem as it faced competition from other blockchains.

As part of that effort, co-executive directors were brought in with more technical backgrounds. Vitalik Buterin also became more publicly active in communicating Ethereum’s roadmap.

Earlier this year, the Foundation published a new mandate outlining its CROPs values — Censorship resistance, Open source, Privacy, and Security. The document stated the Foundation does not see itself as Ethereum’s owner, but as one of many stewards.

However, reports that staff were asked to sign a loyalty pledge linked to the mandate drew criticism. The mandate also included references to the Milady online community, which upset parts of the Ethereum community.

The Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.

What Happens Next

The Foundation has said it aims to reduce its own centrality as the Ethereum ecosystem grows. Whether the current wave of departures affects that transition remains unclear.