Ethereum Foundation Hit by 8 Departures in Governance…

The Ethereum Foundation is navigating its most concentrated internal crisis in years: eight high-profile departures since January 2026, a contested public mandate, and an open debate over whether the Switzerland-based nonprofit still serves a coherent purpose inside the ecosystem it helped build.

The immediate flashpoint was the EF's March 13 "Mandate" publication, which reframed the foundation as a steward rather than Ethereum's "parent, ruler, or final authority" — sharpening a long-running fault line between narrow public-goods research and a more execution-oriented, commercially competitive institution. Longtime contributor Zak Cole delivered the bluntest verdict: "The EF is completely out of touch," citing misallocated funding and a leadership disconnect from the ecosystem's commercial realities.