Zug, Switzerland – [Date of Publication] – The Ethereum Foundation (EF) today announced a significant leadership transition, with Tomasz, a prominent figure in the Ethereum ecosystem, stepping down from his role as Co-Executive Director at the end of February 2026. Bastian Aue, currently a key leader within the Foundation, will ascend to the Co-Executive Director position, joining Hsiao-Wei to guide the organization into its next phase of growth and development. The announcement comes at a pivotal moment for Ethereum, as the network solidifies its position as a foundational layer for emerging technologies and global financial infrastructure.
Tomasz’s departure marks the culmination of an impactful tenure during which he, alongside Hsiao-Wei, spearheaded transformative initiatives within the EF and fostered robust community engagement. His decision to transition reflects a strategic handover, allowing him to pursue new endeavors focused on hands-on product building and agentic core development within the broader Ethereum ecosystem. The move is met with an overwhelmingly optimistic outlook for the future of Ethereum, the Foundation, and Tomasz’s continued contributions to the decentralized world.
A New Chapter for the Ethereum Foundation Leadership
The transition plan, set for completion by February 2026, will see Bastian Aue assume the expanded leadership responsibilities alongside current Co-Executive Director Hsiao-Wei. This strategic appointment ensures continuity and builds upon the strong foundation laid by the outgoing leadership. Tomasz expressed immense confidence in the incoming leadership, highlighting the EF’s current healthy state, clear roadmap, and the growing autonomy and expertise of its internal teams.
"It has been important for me, over the last year, to present the role of the EF co-ED as impactful and desirable, a position where one can make a meaningful difference by empowering people of extraordinary talent and dedication, both at the EF and more broadly in the Ethereum ecosystem," Tomasz stated in his farewell message. His sentiment underscores a belief in the inherent strength and capability of the Foundation’s personnel, poised to tackle future challenges and opportunities.
Hsiao-Wei, a steadfast presence in the EF’s leadership, will continue to guide the Foundation’s strategic direction. Bastian Aue, recognized for his profound understanding of policy support and long-term strategic work, is expected to bring a fresh yet deeply informed perspective to the co-leadership role. The Foundation leadership, including James Smith, who led the EcoDev transformation, Josh Stark, instrumental in operational and communication changes, and the robust Protocol cluster, are cited as key pillars of the EF’s ongoing success. This collective expertise promises a dynamic and resilient leadership structure capable of navigating the complex landscape of blockchain technology and its global implications.
Tomasz’s Legacy: Accelerating Change and Fostering Growth
During his time as Co-Executive Director, Tomasz played a crucial role in injecting renewed vigor and strategic clarity into the Ethereum Foundation. His tenure was characterized by a concerted effort to accelerate decision-making, enhance transparency, and broaden the EF’s engagement with both the developer community and external institutions.
Key Achievements During Tomasz’s Tenure (2025-2026):
- Accelerated Decision-Making and Internal Empowerment: Tomasz prioritized fostering an environment where leaders within the EF felt empowered to make decisions, leading to a more agile and responsive organization.
- Enhanced Transparency and Communication: Significant strides were made in communicating more openly on social media and podcasts, providing greater clarity around budgets, structure, and the L1-L2 relationship. Initiatives like
ethereum.organdforkcast.orgsaw fantastic work in clarifying roadmaps and use cases. - Institutional Engagement: The EF became more open to institutions, recognizing Ethereum’s growing importance in traditional finance. This culminated in the institutional Ethereum conference in New York in 2026.
- Community and Builder Support: A renewed focus on supporting founders, strengthening local hubs and communities globally (e.g., San Francisco, Lagos, London, Berlin, Hong Kong), and speaking to younger generations of builders.
- Strategic Policy Development: Implementation of treasury policies and a clear compensation policy for EF staff.
- Protocol Clarity: Efforts to bring more clarity to the Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 2 (L2) relationship, crucial for Ethereum’s scaling future.
Tomasz reflected on the rewarding yet strategically challenging nature of the co-ED position, expressing satisfaction with the rapid pace of change and the positive trajectory of the organization. "The EF is in a healthy state of an organization that can balance long-term goals and the need for change. The EF is unique, far from boring, very resilient, and led by highly intelligent people," he affirmed, highlighting the collaborative spirit and intellectual capital within the Foundation.
Ethereum’s Unwavering Trajectory: A Foundation for the Future
The departing Co-Executive Director painted a vibrant picture of Ethereum’s future, emphasizing its growing role as a critical infrastructure layer for an increasingly interconnected and intelligent world. Despite market volatility and the ebb and flow of competing ideas, the conviction in Ethereum’s technology, governance, and societal meaning remains steadfast.
Institutional Adoption and Financial Transformation:
Ethereum’s emergence as the "clear institutional preference in 2025" is a testament to its robust architecture and credible neutrality. Dashboards now consistently show Ethereum’s expanding market share in stablecoins and Real World Asset (RWA) activity. Its track record of decentralization, no downtime since genesis, and uniquely low counterparty, technology, and jurisdiction risks position it as the "lowest-risk chain" for institutional players. The upcoming major institutional Ethereum conference in New York in 2026 further underscores its deep integration into global financial centers.
AI, Automation, and Agentic Systems:
Looking ahead, Tomasz envisions Ethereum as the natural coordination layer for a future dominated by automated, agentic interactions. He foresees a world where robots, new forms of governance, and AI-driven healthcare and education systems leverage Ethereum for secure verification and financial transactions. The advancements in open-source Large Language Models (LLMs) and agentic workers are already exciting builders, creating new paradigms that underscore Ethereum’s role as the underlying trust infrastructure. This evolving landscape brings forth critical privacy and security questions, which the Ethereum community, guided by its cypherpunk ethos, is actively addressing. The work of privacy builders and security experts ensures that the network helps people preserve privacy and access to essential infrastructure.
Cutting-Edge Protocol Development:
The Ethereum Foundation’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology is evident in several key initiatives:
- LEAN Ethereum and Core Development Roadmap: The EF Protocol team is set to release a proposal for a merged LEAN Ethereum and core development roadmap, providing clear guidance and coordination for 2026 and beyond. This aims to streamline development and ensure timely delivery of essential improvements.
- Quantum Strategy: A dedicated and clear quantum strategy is in place, with top quantum security researchers finalizing specifications and engineers working on implementations, securing Ethereum’s long-term resilience against future threats.
- Decentralized AI Team: The EF has a specialized decentralized AI team focused on delivering standards, experiments, and solutions for the burgeoning agentic economy, exploring the intersection of AI and blockchain.
Evolving L1-L2 Relationship and Scaling:
A major discussion point over the past year has been the dynamic relationship between Ethereum’s Layer 1 and its Layer 2 scaling solutions. Vitalik Buterin’s recent posts have provided much-needed clarity on how L2s extend or build upon Ethereum with varying security and decentralization trade-offs. The EF’s Platform team, through initiatives like the "Network School," has convened over 20 Ethereum L2s to discuss the future of scaling, differentiation, and interoperability. This collaborative approach has led to clearer visions and more focused strategies for teams building based rollups, native rollups, and synchronous composability. A significant trend observed is that major Ethereum rollups are consistently surpassing AltL1s in stablecoin and Transactions Per Second (TPS) metrics, a trajectory expected to continue.
Cypherpunk Values and Security:
Despite increasing institutional engagement, the Ethereum ecosystem remains deeply rooted in its cypherpunk values. Groups like Vitalik’s Silviculture Society advise senior leaders on emerging risks, guarding against missteps. Initiatives from PSE and Kohaku focus on applied privacy, while the Protocol team, through programs like FOCIL and the Trillion Dollar Security program, dedicates unprecedented effort to enhancing security and censorship resistance.
Global Outreach and Community Building:
The EF’s global footprint is expanding rapidly. Devcon Mumbai in 2026 is poised to bring blockchain thought leaders and founders to India, a community long deserving of such a prominent event. The "Ethereum Everywhere" initiative supports hubs in major global cities like San Francisco, Lagos, London, Berlin, and Hong Kong. The Academic Secretariat team is planning numerous university events, fostering new talent and ideas. The pop-up cities concept continues to gain momentum, creating vibrant spaces for builders and thought leaders worldwide.
Furthermore, the newly formed DeFi coordination team at the EF is set to publish its plans and roadmap, bringing specialized talent to support the flourishing DeFi ecosystem. The Foundation’s enhanced communication strategies, championed by ethereum.org and forkcast.org, ensure that roadmaps, use cases, and applications are communicated with utmost clarity and excitement.
Tomasz’s Future: A Return to Hands-On Building
As Tomasz steps away from his executive role, he is not departing the Ethereum ecosystem but rather pivoting to a more hands-on, builder-centric role. He plans to act more as a core developer and a product builder, with a particular focus on "agentic core development and agentic governance." This mirrors the entrepreneurial spirit he embodied when founding Nethermind in 2017, a time when he felt a profound conviction about Ethereum’s potential to reshape financial systems.
"I know now that agentic systems and AI-assisted discovery are reshaping the world," Tomasz declared, drawing parallels to his earlier foresight. He acknowledges the nascent and experimental nature of some agentic ideas but emphasizes that "playful experimentation" was a hallmark of early Ethereum innovation. He intends to continue working directly with founders in frontier tech and Ethereum, supporting the realization of the visions he has championed.
Tomasz has committed to remaining available to the EF leadership for advice and will keep his direct messages open for anyone seeking support in connecting with EF personnel or discussing Ethereum’s vision and strategy. His enduring commitment to pushing the Ethereum ecosystem to "move at pace" suggests his future contributions will continue to be a significant catalyst for innovation.
A Heartfelt Thank You to the Community
Tomasz concluded his announcement with a heartfelt message of gratitude, acknowledging the vast network of individuals who supported him, the EF, and Ethereum throughout 2025. His travels across over 20 countries allowed him to engage with thousands of builders, financiers, educators, policymakers, creators, researchers, and academics. He expressed deep appreciation for the support, challenging questions, and constructive critique received from the community.
He extended special thanks to the EF board for their bold decision to bring him on as Co-Executive Director, and to Hsiao-Wei and the management team for their swift collaboration. Specific individuals recognized for their contributions include Bastian Aue, Josh Stark, and Tju Liang for their emotional intelligence and facilitation of difficult discussions, and Joe Schweitzer for his role in reaching broad audiences through podcasts.
Crucially, Tomasz thanked the "hundreds of Ethereum leaders" who reached out in early 2025, sharing their insights and helping to shape the EF’s strategy. "I would never have found the right paths without you," he stated, underscoring the collaborative and community-driven nature of Ethereum’s success. Finally, he offered immense gratitude to every single person at the EF for their dedication and talent in executing on their beliefs.
As Tomasz transitions to his next chapter and Bastian Aue steps into an expanded leadership role, the Ethereum Foundation and the broader Ethereum ecosystem stand on the cusp of an exciting and transformative future, driven by innovation, community, and an unwavering belief in decentralized technology.
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Tomasz
