Josh Stark, prominent Ethereum Foundation researcher, announces exit from organization
The exit of Stark marks the highest-profile departure from the Ethereum Foundation following the organizational restructuring that took place during Q1 2025.
On Thursday, Josh Stark, who served as a prominent researcher and project manager within the Ethereum Foundation—the nonprofit entity responsible for overseeing the development of the Ethereum ecosystem—announced his exit from the organization following a five-year tenure.
In a statement shared on X, Stark offered no concrete explanation for leaving and mentioned he currently has "no plans for the future." He indicated his intention to spend time away from work, dedicating his attention to family and friends during this period. His statement included:
"The 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."
According to an organizational chart displaying the reporting structure for virtually all Foundation personnel, Stark is listed as one of four individuals designated under "Management." An attempt by Cointelegraph to contact Stark regarding his exit did not yield a response prior to publication.
Stark's exit from the Ethereum Foundation constitutes the most significant departure from the nonprofit since Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin unveiled comprehensive leadership restructuring and a revised strategic direction for the Foundation in 2025. Just one day before Stark's announcement, Trent Van Epps, another contributor at the Foundation, revealed that he had resigned the previous week.
The Ethereum Foundation got a shakeup in 2025
During January 2025, co-founder Vitalik Buterin unveiled comprehensive structural changes to the Ethereum Foundation, responding to mounting criticism from community members regarding the ecosystem's long-term strategic trajectory.
Among the objectives Buterin outlined for the transformation were the recruitment of "fresh" talent into the organization, enhanced decentralization efforts, and advancing protocol development to achieve faster transaction throughput along with improved transaction speeds.
Nevertheless, Buterin clarified that the restructured Ethereum Foundation would refrain from participating in ideological debates, conducting lobbying activities with US lawmakers in Washington, or advocating for "vested interests."
"These 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," he said.
In March 2025, the Ethereum Foundation made an official announcement regarding new leadership appointments, naming Hsiao-Wei Wang, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, alongside Tomasz Stańczak, the CEO of Nethermind, which operates an Ethereum execution client, as co-directors of the nonprofit organization.
While Stańczak resigned from his position in February 2026, Wang continues to serve as a member of the Ethereum Foundation's management board, as indicated on the organization's current organizational chart.