Two more Ethereum Foundation researchers have tendered their resignations, with Carl Beek and Julian Ma announcing their departures on Monday.

This adds to a growing number of resignations in recent months, including the former heads of the major Protocol cluster earlier this month, and other executive-level departures. Tomasz K. Stańczak stepped down as co-executive director of The Ethereum Foundation in February, less than a year into the job, while Josh Stark resigned in March after seven years.

Similarly, Beek announced on Monday that he is leaving after seven years. He is perhaps most known for his contributions to Ethereum’s Beacon Chain, which supported the blockchain’s highly complex upgrade to proof-of-stake consensus in 2020.

“To every researcher, core dev, EFer, and community member, whether we worked together closely or not: thank you,” Beek said on X. “The strength of Ethereum is, and always will be, the people behind it striving to make it what it is. I’m grateful to have spent these years among you.”

Beek noted he and his wife welcomed a one-year-old last month. His last day will be Friday, May 29.

Meanwhile, Ma said he is stepping down after about four years, having made contributions to Ethereum’s mechanism design, cryptoeconomics, and protocol scaling. Ma noted some of his proudest achievements include co-authoring FOCIL (EIP-7805), to boost Ethereum’s censorship-resistance, and leading the rollout of the Fast Confirmation Rule that dropped bridging time between Ethereum Layer 2s and the mainnet to 13 seconds, he said.

In addition to Stańczak and Stark, other high-profile researchers and leaders who left the EF include Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko of the Protocol team and Trent Van Epps, who key organized the influential Protocol Guild, which is today an independent funding organization for Ethereum core developers.

Alex Stokes, former co-lead of Protocol, also announced he is going on sabbatical earlier this month. Last June, amid long-simmering tensions, Péter Szilágyi announced he was leaving the organization after about a decade, having created the most widely used Ethereum execution client Geth.

The Ethereum Foundation went through a significant reshuffling in 2025 to address community criticism about the organization’s execution, scaling, and support for the ecosystem amid Ethereum’s competition with other chains. At the time, the EF was praised for reducing former Executive Director Aya Miyaguchi’s influence with the appointment of more technical co-leads.

Vitalik Buterin also took an increasingly visible role in communicating the Ethereum roadmap, particularly its recommitment to scaling the Ethereum base layer while pulling back the so-called “rollup-centric” roadmap.

However, the EF has raised significant controversy in recent months. Most notably, the organization is said to have asked employees to sign a loyalty pledge after publishing a mandate outlining the EF’s focus on CROPs values, short for Censorship resistance, Open source, Privacy, and Security. While most Ethereum community members support CROPs in the abstract, the mandate’s apparent references to the controversial Milady online community upset many.

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RichSilo Visions:

Executive Summary (TL;DR)

The Ethereum Foundation is experiencing a critical brain drain as key researchers and leaders depart, signaling potential internal conflicts and strategic uncertainty that could impact Ethereum’s development roadmap and competitive position.

The Core Friction

Beyond the surface-level PR about personal reasons, these departures reflect deeper tensions within the Ethereum ecosystem. The exodus follows organizational restructuring, controversial loyalty pledges, and a shifting strategic direction that appears to have alienated key technical talent. The timing coincides with Ethereum’s increasing competition with other layer-1 solutions and the growing complexity of maintaining its technological edge.

Market Impact & Chain Reaction

Short-term: ETH may face increased volatility as the market interprets these departures as a sign of internal strife. Specific tokens like L2 solutions (Arbitrum, Optimism) that rely on EF research may experience uncertainty. The resignation of Beacon Chain contributor Carl Beek could particularly affect PoS consensus mechanisms.
Mid-term: Competing layer-1 solutions (Solana, Avalanche) may gain narrative advantage as the EF’s apparent internal struggles create a perception of organizational weakness. Alternative funding structures like the Protocol Guild (now independent) could signal a shift toward more decentralized development models, potentially benefiting funding mechanisms like Gitcoin Grants.

RichSilo Verdict

Smart money should monitor whether these departures represent a temporary setback or a more fundamental realignment of Ethereum’s development priorities. The market will be watching for Vitalik Buterin’s increased involvement to compensate for the leadership vacuum, as well as how the EF adapts its governance and funding models to retain talent in an increasingly competitive landscape.