Hsiao-Wei Wang has resigned as co-executive director and board member of the Ethereum Foundation, extending a wave of senior departures that has shaken the nonprofit organization at a critical time for the Ethereum network. Wang announced her decision on Thursday after returning from a sabbatical. She had served in the dual role since March 2025 and was previously a core Layer 1 researcher, contributing to sharding proofs-of-concept, consensus mechanisms, and the Beacon Chain design that enabled Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake.
Her exit follows the resignation of fellow co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak in February, as well as the departure of Protocol cluster heads Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko, while the remaining co-lead Alex Stokes has paused work. Josh Stark also left in March. The consecutive departures have intensified scrutiny on the Ethereum Foundation’s internal direction and its ability to coordinate a decentralized ecosystem amid growing competition from faster Layer 1 blockchains.
Vitalik Buterin praised Wang’s decade-long contribution, calling her role “perhaps the most challenging position in the Ethereum Foundation” during “one of the most challenging times for Ethereum.” Wang herself downplayed the move, stating that Ethereum “has always been bigger than any one role, any one organization, or any one moment.” However, the turnover raises concerns about execution risk around governance, roadmap coordination, and institutional messaging.
Joe Lubin, Ethereum co-founder and Consensys CEO, revealed plans to divide the foundation into spinout groups focused on core protocol work, usability and scalability, and institutional outreach. The restructuring is meant to sharpen mandates, though it could also introduce new fragmentation if not clearly defined. For ETH investors, the leadership void adds a governance discount, but the network’s broad developer base and infrastructure may cushion the impact.
