At least nine senior Ethereum Foundation contributors have left this year — five of them in May alone. ETH has dropped about 30% year-to-date, and the ETH/BTC ratio fell to 0.027 in May, its lowest since mid-2025. The departures come as Vitalik Buterin repositions the foundation as a “smaller ship” focused on core principles rather than growth.
A wave of departures
The exodus includes former EF researcher Dankrad Feist, who publicly called for a new $1 billion-plus organization economically aligned with Ethereum to fill what he sees as an institutional void. Bankless co-host David Hoffman sold all his ETH, citing frustration with leadership that lacks a growth focus. The departures have left many in the community asking who’s steering the ship.
Vitalik's 'smaller ship' vision
Buterin has redefined the Ethereum Foundation around CROPS — censorship resistance, open source, privacy, and security. He said the foundation will sell less ETH going forward. His technical vision includes provably bug-free software via AI-assisted formal verification, a concept called “available chain consensus” that’s unique among proof-of-stake chains, and intermediary-minimizing proposals like FOCIL and EIP-8141. It’s a long-term bet on fundamentals over user growth.
Competition is eating lunch
GSR Research argues that credible neutrality remains Ethereum’s core advantage — but the network is vulnerable to competitors on throughput, fees, and user experience. Solana, Tron, and Hyperliquid are all eating into Ethereum’s share of activity. GSR’s Carlos Guzman put it bluntly: Ethereum’s window to execute its vision is not unlimited.
That warning lands hard after a month where the ETH/BTC ratio touched levels not seen since mid-2025. The foundation’s smaller-ship strategy may buy time, but the clock is ticking.
