Catenaa, Monday, May 25, 2026- Two more senior researchers have resigned from the Ethereum Foundation, extending a wave of departures that has intensified scrutiny over leadership changes, internal restructuring and growing tensions within the Ethereum ecosystem.
Researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma announced Monday they would leave the foundation after years working on core Ethereum infrastructure and protocol development.
Beek, who spent seven years at the organization, played a major role in developing Ethereum’s Beacon Chain, a central component behind the blockchain’s transition to proof-of-stake consensus.
Ma, who worked at the foundation for roughly four years, contributed to Ethereum’s cryptoeconomics, scaling systems and censorship-resistance initiatives. He also helped develop the Fast Confirmation Rule, which reduced transaction bridging times between Ethereum Layer 2 networks and the main blockchain to about 13 seconds.
The departures follow several high-profile resignations in recent months, including former co-executive director Tomasz K. Stańczak and longtime Ethereum contributor Josh Stark.
Other notable exits include Protocol team leaders Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko, alongside developer relations figure Trent Van Epps.
The foundation underwent major restructuring in 2025 after criticism from community members who argued Ethereum was losing momentum against rival blockchains.
Vitalik Buterin has since taken a more visible role promoting Ethereum’s technical roadmap, particularly efforts to improve scaling on the blockchain’s base layer.
The Ethereum Foundation has also faced controversy over internal policies linked to its CROPs mandate, shorthand for censorship resistance, open source, privacy and security.
Some community members criticized reported loyalty pledges tied to the initiative and references connected to the controversial Milady online community.
The growing turnover comes as Ethereum faces mounting pressure from competing blockchain networks and ongoing debate over governance, scaling strategy and ecosystem direction.
