PANews
PANews|Jun 03, 2025 08:47
The decentralized Ethereum Foundation has started laying off employees on its own. In early June, the Ethereum Foundation (EF) announced its first public layoffs and restructured its protocol development team PR&D, renamed Protocol, focusing on three major directions: L1 expansion, data availability, and user experience, with more than ten employees laid off. EF claimed that this move aims to improve efficiency and strategic focus, but it has sparked strong community backlash: core developer Peter Szilagyi claimed that "developers are the most important asset", Multicoin questioned EF's conflicting goals, and a16z executives publicly stated that the foundation model is no longer appropriate. This organizational restructuring is EF's response to its long-standing criticism of "unclear direction, inefficient execution, and centralized governance". Although Vitalik himself has long faded out of his management role, there is ongoing controversy about his positioning: is he a route guide or a real power decision-maker? Meanwhile, researchers Danny Ryan, core developer Eric Conner, and others have resigned one after another, and Aya's promotion to the position of foundation chairman is also seen as a "visible rise but hidden decline". A deeper discussion is whether non-profit foundations are still suitable for supporting global networks like Ethereum? Institutions such as a16z call for the replacement of traditional foundations with accountable and market-oriented corporate structures, emphasizing that token incentives, operational efficiency, and transparent governance are the realistic paths towards "next-generation decentralization". Ethereum is standing at a critical crossroads.
+3
Mentioned
Share To

Timeline

HotFlash

APP

X

Telegram

Facebook

Reddit

CopyLink

Hot Reads