The Ethereum Foundation’s Executive Director is stepping down from that position to take on a new role as President, according to a blog post published on the foundation’s website. The transition, which was decided a year ago, is intended to allow the executive to continue supporting the foundation’s institutional relationships and expand the reach of its vision and culture.
In the post, the outgoing executive reflects on Ethereum’s decentralized nature, noting that the network belongs to everyone precisely because it belongs to no one. The culture of permissionlessness, they write, does not merely tolerate disagreement but grows stronger through it, and recent debates over performance and market value have highlighted this resilience.
The author also outlines the Ethereum Foundation’s role, emphasizing that it does not seek to control or own all domains within the ecosystem. Instead, the foundation is accountable for upholding Ethereum’s values, ensuring the network remains resilient as a broader ecosystem of people, ideas, and values. The philosophy of subtraction is described as subtractive design thinking focused on outcomes rather than rigid methods, aiming to reduce imbalances and centralization.
Several examples of the foundation’s actions are cited, including stewarding All Core Dev calls to allow technical decisions to emerge through community wisdom, promoting client diversity to avoid single points of failure, and supporting R&D interop retreats. The author also mentions initiatives like Account Abstraction and cross-L2 coordination, which began as seeds planted by the foundation but have grown through community cultivation. The Merge to proof of stake is highlighted as a mission-impossible achievement that required leadership without control.
The post also discusses Devcon and Devconnect, describing them as spaces where community hubs and domain-specific events are led by those driving progress in their own corners of the ecosystem. The author stresses that the foundation must keep evolving, but not like a traditional corporation, with the goal being for Ethereum to win over the long term while staying true to its core values.
Reflecting on seven years with the foundation, the author notes that Ethereum has grown from a project with fewer voices to a thriving collage of core developers, L2 teams, application builders, and local communities. The vision of the 'Infinite Garden' is mentioned, with Ethereum growing like a garden strengthened by biodiversity, and the author emphasizes that this infinite game cannot be played by the foundation alone.
The author concludes by thanking the community and mentioning that the transition to President was discussed with Vitalik Buterin a year ago. The intention is to continue nurturing Ethereum’s unique culture and serve as a voice bridging the gap between Ethereum and the broader global community.
