- Ethereum Foundation lays off staff to streamline protocol focus
- Leadership reshuffle aims to fix technical execution and delivery
- Protocol team to drive UX, blobspace, and Layer 1 performance
The Ethereum Foundation has made changes to its Protocol Research and Development group and cut some of its staff. The decision seeks to make operations more efficient, focus on innovative technologies and boost the scalability of Ethereum’s Layer 1. The decision comes after the community’s scrutiny on the foundation operations.
Protocol Focus on UX, Blobspace and Layer 1 Expansion
The new approach intends to expand the Layer 1 network, add more data storage with blobspace and improve user experience. The foundation renamed its Protocol Research & Development division to “Protocol” to indicate the shift. The reorganization also introduces new leadership to improve internal coordination and accountability.
Tim Beiko and Ansgar Dietrichs now lead Layer 1 scaling, while Alex Stokes and Francesco D’Amato oversee blobspace development. Barnabé Monnot and Josh Rudolf take charge of user experience improvements, and Dankrad Feist will provide strategic advisory across teams. The new structure consolidates teams under clear mandates and defined goals.
Ethereum Lays Off Staff
Ethereum foundation said these changes are important to improve project delivery and to address critical demands in protocol evolution. While the total number of layoffs is still unknown, developers have said that at least four engineers have been dismissed. The foundation urged projects in the Ethereum ecosystem to consider hiring the affected developers.
The layoff was announced after the Pectra upgrade which made Ethereum faster but caused concerns about wallet security. The Ethereum foundation plans to match its resources with its main mission of growing the Ethereum ecosystem. Leadership believes that the restructuring will speed up the achievement of strategic goals.
Leadership Reshuffle At Ethereum Foundation
The foundation appointed Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak as co-executive directors to provide clear, stable operations and leadership. Aya Miyaguchi, the previous executive director, has moved into a new role as foundation president to support high-level governance. The change in leadership reflects Ethereum’s dedication to transparency and future plans.
Developers and users had expressed concerns about slow research and the unclear explanations in the documentation. Therefore, the foundation decided to improve the frequency of upgrades and make research more accessible. The restructured Protocol division will act as the main coordination point.
Leaders at Ethereum think this change is necessary as the network grows and more people use it. Layer 2 networks, zkEVMs and data scaling solutions require more cooperation between research and deployment. Ethereum intends to address the increased demand for secure and scalable blockchain infrastructure worldwide.
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