The Ethereum Foundation is facing renewed scrutiny after two more prominent contributors, Carl Beek and Julian Ma, shared they are exiting the organization on Monday, extending a wave of departures that has rattled parts of the Ethereum community over the past few months.
The latest exits come amid broader questions about turnover inside the nonprofit that helps steward the world’s second-largest blockchain. Community members have increasingly asked why so many high-profile researchers, coordinators and ecosystem leaders have left the Ethereum Foundation in recent months.
The foundation did not immediately return a request for comment.
The departures of Beek and Ma follow a series of notable exits from the foundation’s various initiatives. Among those who have either left or stepped back are Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko, two of the most recognizable figures involved in Ethereum’s core protocol coordination.
Trent Van Epps, who played a key role organizing Protocol Guild, the funding collective that has since evolved into an independent organization supporting Ethereum core developers, also departed earlier this year. Alex Stokes, the former co-lead of the Protocol initiative, separately announced earlier this month that he would be taking a sabbatical.
One widely shared post from pseudonymous X commentator @DefiIgnas highlighted the recent exodus and asked why “so many people are leaving the Ethereum Foundation,” reflecting broader concerns circulating across the community.
The turnover comes as the foundation undergoes a broader internal transition following the publication of a new mandate earlier this year aimed at more clearly defining the organization’s role within the Ethereum ecosystem. The document emphasized that the foundation does not see itself as Ethereum’s “owner” or central authority, but rather as one of many stewards responsible for supporting the network’s long-term health, research and public goods.
The mandate also sought to clarify the foundation’s priorities at a time of growing debate within the community over Ethereum’s direction, governance and institutional influence. It reaffirmed commitments to principles such as censorship resistance, open-source development, privacy and security, while signaling that the foundation intends to gradually reduce its own centrality as the ecosystem matures.
The organizational transition has also coincided with leadership turnover. Tomasz Stańczak, who joined the Ethereum Foundation in 2025 as co-executive director during a broader restructuring effort, stepped down earlier this year after a relatively short tenure.
Stańczak had been brought in alongside Hsiao-Wei Wang following mounting criticism from parts of the Ethereum community over the foundation’s transparency, pace of execution and overall strategic direction.
As the foundation attempts to redefine its role in an increasingly decentralized Ethereum ecosystem, the growing list of departures has fueled fresh debate over whether the organization can evolve alongside the network it helped create.
Read more: Ethereum Foundation publishes new mandate defining its role, core principles
