Ethereum Foundation Restructures to Boost Decentralization

The Ethereum Foundation is cutting staff and refocusing on core protocol development as Ethlabs takes over key ecosystem research.

The Ethereum Foundation is reducing its workforce, restructuring its research operations, and concentrating resources on the development of Ethereum’s base layer. This shift occurs as a growing portion of innovation moves toward independent teams and external organizations.

The decision comes as the leading altcoin enters a new developmental phase. Attention is gradually shifting from experimental improvements toward increasing network capacity, optimizing user experience, and addressing long-term infrastructure challenges.

Foundation Scales Back Its Role

According to information from the organization, the restructuring will reduce the number of employees to under 100, down from over 110 before the reform began. Simultaneously, the foundation’s research and development wing will be renamed “Protocol”—a move that signals the team’s narrower specialization.

The new mandate centers on developing Ethereum’s core layer, increasing data processing capacity through “blobs,” and enhancing the user experience at the protocol level.

Foundation leadership describes the change as a natural evolution of the ecosystem. Rather than serving as the central engine for all technological initiatives, the organization will increasingly act as a coordinator, strategic partner, and guardian of the network’s long-term vision.

This approach reflects the belief that ETH development should be distributed across multiple independent organizations rather than concentrated within a single institution.

Ethlabs Takes Over Key Research

A prime example of this transformation is the launch of Ethlabs, a new independent non-profit organization announced on June 23.

Founded by five former Ethereum Foundation experts, including Ansgar Dietrichs and Barnabé Monnot, the lab will focus on network scalability and preparing the protocol for institutional adoption.

The creation of Ethlabs signals that a larger share of fundamental ecosystem research will now be conducted by specialized external entities. Analysts suggest this reduces the risk of over-reliance on the foundation and fosters a more decentralized development model.

Preparing for the Glamsterdam Upgrade

Alongside these organizational shifts, the structure continues to work on the network’s next major upgrade, Glamsterdam, with testing expected later this year.

The update is a pillar of the foundation’s new strategy. It includes the implementation of technologies such as “enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation” (ePBS) and “Block-level Access Lists” (BALs), which aim to increase Layer 1 throughput and improve transaction processing efficiency.

Beyond scalability, the organization is prioritizing the mitigation of risks associated with Maximum Extractable Value (MEV) and integrating privacy mechanisms directly into the protocol. Under this new vision, data protection should become a standard Ethereum feature rather than an optional add-on.

The foundation also plans to increase the use of ETH and ETH-based stablecoins in its own financial operations and compensation schemes, strengthening the link between the organization and the ecosystem it supports.

Market observers view these changes as a sign of Ethereum’s maturity. Analysts believe network development is entering a phase where decentralization is measured not just by validators and infrastructure, but by the distribution of research, funding, and development among various independent participants.

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