{"id":72687,"date":"2026-04-17T08:59:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T01:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/key-ethereum-researcher-josh-stark-leaves-the-ethereum-foundation\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T08:59:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T01:59:01","slug":"key-ethereum-researcher-josh-stark-leaves-the-ethereum-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/zh\/key-ethereum-researcher-josh-stark-leaves-the-ethereum-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Ethereum researcher Josh Stark leaves the Ethereum Foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Josh Stark, a key researcher and project manager at the Ethereum Foundation, the non-profit organization that stewards development of the Ethereum ecosystem, said Thursday that he is departing the organization after five years.<\/p>\n

Stark did not provide a specific reason for his departure and said<\/a> in a post on X that he has \u201cno plans for the future.\u201d Instead, he will take some personal time to focus on family and friends. He said:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe Ethereum ecosystem has reliably done things the world told us were impossible. It is easy to forget how much real fear and doubt there was that Ethereum would never launch, that decentralized finance (DeFi) would never work, or that Proof of Stake would never ship.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He is one of four people listed as \u201cManagement\u201d on an organizational chart<\/a> which shows nearly all of the Foundation\u2019s staff reporting in. Cointelegraph reached out to Stark about his departure, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.<\/p>\n

\"Ethereum
Source: <\/em>Josh Stark<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The departure of Stark from the Ethereum Foundation represents the most high-profile exit from the organization since Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced sweeping leadership changes<\/a> and a new direction for the Foundation in 2025. A day earlier, another Foundation contributor, Trent Van Epps, announced<\/a> that he resigned last week.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/strong><\/em>Ethereum Foundation nearly reaches 70,000 staked ETH goal<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The Ethereum Foundation got a shakeup in 2025<\/h2>\n

In January 2025, co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced sweeping changes to the Ethereum Foundation in response to growing criticism from the Ethereum community<\/a> over the long-term direction of the ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Bringing in \u201cfresh\u201d talent to the organization<\/a>, greater decentralization and developing the protocol for faster transaction throughput and increased transaction speeds were among some of the goals Buterin listed for the changes.<\/p>\n

However, the revamped Ethereum Foundation would not engage in ideological disputes, lobby US lawmakers in Washington or represent \u201cvested interests,\u201d Buterin added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese things aren’t what EF does, and this isn’t going to change. People seeking a different vision are welcome to start their own orgs,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Ethereum
Source: <\/em>Vitalik Buterin<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ethereum Foundation officially announced new leadership<\/a> in March 2025, adding\u00a0 Hsiao-Wei Wang, an Ethereum Foundation researcher, and Tomasz Sta\u0144czak, CEO of Nethermind, an Ethereum execution client, as co-directors of the organization.<\/p>\n

Sta\u0144czak stepped down from his role in February 2026, while Wang remains a member of the Ethereum Foundation\u2019s management board, according to its organizational chart. <\/p>\n

Magazine: <\/strong><\/em>Back to Ethereum: How Synthetix, Ronin and Celo saw the light<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n