Ethereum Foundation cuts 20% staff and adopts five-cluster structure

Ethereum Foundation cuts 20% staff, budgets −40%, pivots to endowment model

Ethereum Foundation eliminated 54 roles and cut its 2026 operating budget by 40%. It will refocus on protocol stewardship and reorganize into five domain clusters. EF announcement Vitalik’s thread

The shift narrows EF’s mandate. It moves away from being Ethereum’s central build shop. It leans into long-horizon funding.

- Protocol Layer. Post-quantum security, zkEVM, L1 privacy. EF announcement
- Access Layer. Tools for users and AI agents to transact and delegate on-chain. EF announcement
- User Layer. Empirical research on actual network usage to inform protocol. EF announcement
- Community Layer. EF’s public positioning across crypto, OSS, cryptography. EF announcement
- Institutional Layer. Engagement with institutions, enterprises, governments, academia. EF announcement

Spending model changes. Current annual spend is about 15% of treasury. Target is ~5% by 2030 under an endowment approach. The policy was seeded in June 2025 and formalized in March 2026. CoinMarketCap Academy Vitalik’s thread

Severance terms are defined. At least one month of salary per year of service, a retirement payment, and access to a support fund. Nine senior figures have exited since January 2026; Bastian Aue serves in an interim role. The Block

Strategic takeaway for investors. EF concentrates on core protocol and long-run sustainability of Ethereum (ETH) development. Near-term execution shifts to ecosystem actors, while EF tightens spend and governance under its Mandate and Treasury Management Policy. Vitalik’s thread EF announcement

Overlap to watch. Consensys highlighted its zk-proof development timeline, which may cover areas EF deprioritizes. Coinspeaker on Consensys