Ethereum Foundation Loses Co-Director as Exits Hit 19 in 2026

On June 18, the Ethereum Foundation lost another director. Hsiao-Wei Wang, co-executive director of the foundation, announced her departure through a post on X, marking the 19th confirmed exit or layoff from EF in 2026. The news arrived as ETH made another failed attempt to hold $1,700 after a hawkish signal from the Fed.

Who left and why this is not a routine change

Wang served as co-executive director alongside Tomasz Stanczak, who stepped down from his leadership role earlier in 2026. Now Wang is gone. Both co-directors have left, and the foundation is currently without permanent executive leadership.

EF was established in 2014 alongside Ethereum itself. For over a decade the foundation funded core protocol research, organized Devcon and supported developer grants. The co-director role was introduced relatively recently as a response to growing workload and persistent criticism over governance transparency.

Wang kept her explanation brief. Following a sabbatical she wrote that she had not yet decided what she would do next. The post contained little detail, but one sentence stood out:

"Ethereum has always been bigger than any role."

- Hsiao-Wei Wang, co-executive director of Ethereum Foundation, from a post on X, June 18, 2026

Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin replied in the same thread. He wrote that Wang had taken on "the most challenging position in the Ethereum Foundation" alongside Stanczak. He offered no predictions and no defense of the decision. He simply confirmed that the co-director role is genuinely one of the hardest in the space.

19 exits: what the number means

The figure of 19 covers only publicly confirmed departures and layoffs at EF since the start of 2026. The list includes researchers, core developers, grant program managers and two co-directors. Some moved to layer-2 teams. Others started their own projects or took extended breaks.

EF is not a corporation in the traditional sense. It operates as a nonprofit that funds developers from an endowment worth several billion dollars, rather than hiring through a standard HR process. That is a key distinction. Some turnover is expected. Still, two co-directors leaving in a single year turns routine turnover into a question about how governance at the foundation actually works.

Decentralization as a response and as a new problem

In March, EF published an updated mandate. The core idea: the protocol should pass a "walkaway test" and keep functioning even if the foundation ceased to exist tomorrow. Buterin has repeated this point before. He describes EF not as "the center of Ethereum" but as one node among many.

That is a coherent position. In practice it raises a question: if the foundation deliberately scales back its coordination role, who sets priorities for core development? Large layer-2 teams have their own product goals. Independent researchers work in different directions. Without a clear coordinator, key decisions risk getting delayed.

Buterin has also revised his view on layer-2 networks. He stated that the original vision for them "no longer makes sense" because most have failed to achieve real decentralization. The focus now shifts to strengthening Ethereum mainnet. For holders of layer-2 tokens, that is a message worth reading carefully.

ETH below $1,700: departures, the Fed, or both?

After the Fed rate decision, Ethereum failed to break resistance near $1,700. Analysts warn of a fresh "selling wave," the technical picture stays bearish, and futures sit at 13-month lows.

There is no direct causal link between EF departures and the current price. ETH is falling with the broader market after Powell's hawkish message. But each new departure headline arrives in the feed at a moment when sentiment is already weak. For long-term investors that is an extra layer of psychological pressure.

Those considering selling Ethereum for Ukrainian hryvnia through exchange services are seeing significantly lower rates than in April. Current offers can be compared on Kurslog.

What comes next for Ethereum Foundation

The foundation has announced neither a successor for Wang nor a new organizational structure. EF appears to be moving toward a more collective management model without a single co-director. For the protocol itself this is not a stop sign. Core developers, EIP researchers and upgrade teams continue their work regardless of personnel changes at the foundation.

The market will track one metric: whether the personnel changes affect the pace of technical upgrades. If network metrics (staking, activity, fees) remain stable, Wang's departure will be news for Crypto Twitter but not a signal for traders. If the technical rhythm slows, the conversation about EF's role will become much sharper.