Ethereum Foundation Cuts 20% of Staff, Creates Five Core Clusters

The Ethereum Foundation, or EF, has long led work on the core protocol and public goods, but its treasury spending and centralized decision-making have repeatedly faced scrutiny. EF is now narrowing its focus to the protocol, neutrality and self-sovereignty, while EthLabs takes on scaling, interoperability and institutional adoption. The division of responsibilities among several independent organizations will be crucial to whether Ethereum can move toward multi-institution governance instead of remaining under the leadership of a single foundation.

Five former EF researchers established the nonprofit EthLabs on June 22, 2026, with backing from BitMine, SharpLink, Joe Lubin and others. The amount of support was not disclosed. The following day, EF eliminated 54 positions, equivalent to 20% of its workforce, and cut its 2026 budget by 40%. It also plans to reduce its treasury spending rate from about 15% to 5% by 2030. Solana founder Anatoly Yakovenko said the streamlining would help sharpen its focus.

The Ethereum Foundation, or EF, supports Ethereum protocol research and development and the broader ecosystem. Before 2026, its annual spending amounted to about 15% of its remaining treasury, with a goal of lowering that figure to roughly 5% after 2030. The restructuring is designed to secure funding for the core roadmap and shift EF toward a long-term operating model similar to a university endowment. The foundation has not disclosed the budget's absolute value.

Vitalik Buterin announced on June 23, 2026, that EF would cut this year's budget by about 40%, while the foundation confirmed a 20% reduction in headcount the same day. Nine senior executives have departed since January 2026. EF will gradually wind down its Privacy & Scaling Explorations unit, scale back Devcon and reorganize the unit into a specialist client team using AI-assisted formal verification.