Ethereum Foundation Exodus Intensifies: Researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma Announce Departures, Several Key Members Exit in Quick Succession

On May 19, Ethereum Foundation researchers Carl Beek and Julian Ma announced their resignations Monday—adding to the recent wave of high-profile departures from the organization. Beek, a 7-year Foundation veteran, worked on Beacon Chain development and helped guide Ethereum’s shift to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism back in 2020. Ma, who spent roughly four years at the Foundation, focused on mechanism design, cryptoeconomics, and protocol scalability; he co-authored the FOCIL proposal (EIP-7805) to strengthen anti-censorship capabilities and pushed the Fast Confirmation Rule, cutting bridging confirmation time between Layer 2 networks and Ethereum’s mainnet to 13 seconds. In recent months, the Ethereum Foundation has seen a steady stream of exits: former Co-Executive Director Tomasz K. Stańczak, 7-year team member Josh Stark, protocol staffers Barnabé Monnot and Tim Beiko have all left, plus Alex Stokes, former Co-Head of Protocol, took a temporary leave of absence this month. Reports show the Foundation has been restructuring since 2025 to address community concerns over scalability, execution efficiency, and ecosystem support. Lately, it’s faced criticism for requiring employees to sign a loyalty pledge, and has been tangled in controversy around its CROPs (Censorship Resistance, Open Source, Privacy, Security) core values.