A second senior figure is set to leave the Ethereum Foundation in 2026, with leadership team member Josh Stark announcing his departure after a five-year tenure, signaling an ongoing transition at the core of the ecosystem.
"After 5 years on the @ethereumfndn leadership team, I’ve decided to step away and pass the torch," Josh Stark, a key researcher and project manager, said on the social media platform X. "I made this decision in early March, and will wrap up my work at the end of April."
Stark’s exit follows the departure of Tomasz Stańczak, who stepped down from his role as co-executive director in February. The two exits represent the most significant leadership changes at the foundation since a broader organizational shakeup in early 2025, which aimed to bring in fresh talent and decentralize the organization further. Stark joined in 2019 and became a visible voice in communicating the foundation's progress, including the successful shift to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.
The leadership turnover reflects a new phase for the Ethereum Foundation as the network it supports matures into a global settlement layer. While departures of long-time leaders could create uncertainty, Stark expressed confidence in the ecosystem's future, noting its track record of achieving goals once deemed impossible, from launching the network to the rise of decentralized finance.
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