The Ethereum Foundation under the new structure: Analysis of the leadership mechanism, what risks exist, and what is Etheralize?

Author | Sam@IOSG

In March 2025, the Ethereum Foundation (abbreviated as EF) announced a significant leadership change: Executive Director Aya Miyagotchi stepped down from her role as Executive Director to become the Chair of the Foundation; at the same time, Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak were appointed as the new Co-Executive Directors; former EF researcher Danny Ryan joined Etherealize.

In the face of fierce competition, Ethereum is at a transformative moment. This change is not just a personnel adjustment, but rather a strategic game surrounding the future direction of Ethereum. For a long time, Aya has driven Ethereum to build an "infinite garden" with an idealized vision. However, as market competition intensifies and issues such as high Gas fees and network congestion emerge, the community has raised numerous questions about its conservative resource allocation and cultural promotion strategies. There have even been extreme criticisms and attacks against Aya, prompting Vitalik Buterin to call for calm.

In this context, EF is attempting to respond to external dissatisfaction by adjusting its leadership, while also striving to find a new balance between idealism and market reality. This article will examine three dimensions: the transformation of EF's organizational structure, the positioning of Etherealize, and EF's recent adjustments and future outlook, to explore the effectiveness of its strategic transformation to date.

1. Dual Leadership: A New Pattern of Responsibilities and Authorities

Aya term

Since 2018, Aya Miyaguchi has served as the Executive Director of the EF. Aya's leadership coincided with the significant transition of Ethereum from proof of work to proof of stake.

At the strategic level, Aya advocates and implements guiding principles known as the "subtraction philosophy." This principle requires the foundation to consciously avoid becoming a highly centralized power institution, distributing more opportunities and responsibilities throughout the community. At the same time, the EF adheres to the core values of openness, trusted neutrality, and decentralization, avoiding the pursuit of profit or adopting aggressive marketing strategies.

In terms of internal structural adjustments, Aya has led the establishment of several new teams and projects. For example, the EF Fellowship program launched in 2022 supports builders in emerging communities, contributing to the vision of "the next billion." Additionally, new conference formats such as Devconnect, introduced in 2021, also demonstrate EF's new attempts in conference organization and community building.

EF Architecture and Recent Changes

The Ethereum Foundation, as a non-profit organization, does not have a pyramid-like hierarchical structure, but has evolved into a "team community." The Foundation supports numerous semi-autonomous teams that operate independently in their respective areas of expertise while organically collaborating under shared values.

The organizational structure of EF can be divided into four major functional areas: Protocol Research & Development (PR&D), Ecosystem Development (EcoDev), Operational Support (Ops), and Privacy & Scalability Exploration (PSE). Each area has its own responsibilities and collaborates with external communities, research institutions, and development teams under the coordination of the "Protocol Guild" and "Protocol Support" teams.

The foundation plays a bridging role in coordinating cross-team collaboration, such as organizing client interoperability workshops, promoting network upgrades, and hosting global events like Devcon. At the same time, the management of EF consistently avoids micromanaging every project, instead encouraging each team to work in an atmosphere of "self-driven and accountable."

The research team responsible for the core R&D of the protocol has also undergone significant changes in late 2024 and early 2025. In early 2025, the Ethereum Foundation Research Department (EFR) will be reorganized from a single research team into five task forces: Applied Research Group (ARG), Consensus R&D, Cryptography, Protocol Security, and Robust Incentives Group (RIG). The split stems from the Foundation's rapid expansion in the field of cryptography and security, which requires a more professional team to focus on different research directions and improve R&D efficiency and transparency. At the same time, long-time researchers Alex Stokes and Barnabé Monnot co-lead the research direction.

The PSE team, as a key group focused on zero-knowledge proofs and privacy technology research, originated from the AppliedZKP team within the Ethereum Foundation and has now evolved into an independent interdisciplinary "team community" model, operating in parallel with other semi-autonomous teams of the foundation. Through various forms such as workshops, summer camps, and experimental networks (like Alphanet, Testnet), it aids the Ethereum network in evolving towards a balance of "privacy and scalability." The establishment of PSE stems from the urgent need of the Ethereum Foundation for practical privacy and scalability technologies. In the past, research on zero-knowledge and MPC often remained at the academic level; PSE was born to advance technology maturity in an "application-driven" manner and to bridge the gap between research and engineering. In 2024, the team underwent a significant restructuring. A large number of original members left later that year, and the team nearly achieved a "restart."

After the latest personnel changes, EF's management structure is as follows: Aya has been appointed as Chairperson, responsible for promoting strategic cooperation and maintaining relationships, while reducing direct involvement in specific affairs; in terms of management, Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz will serve as Co-Executive Directors, collaboratively handling management work in a parallel manner; in the research field, Barnabé Monnot and Alex Stokes will jointly serve as Co-Heads of Research, while Tju Liang Chua continues as EF's General Counsel, and Bastian and Josh Stark will continue to take on the management and operational responsibilities of EF.

The current leadership of EF is as follows:

Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz: The Dual Engines of Technology and Management

EF has introduced a dual leadership structure in this transformation, appointing two executive directors with strong technical backgrounds and rich practical experience:

Hsiao-Wei Wang

Since joining EF in 2017, Wang Xiaowei has served as a core researcher. She graduated from National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan with a major in Network Engineering, possessing a solid technical foundation. She has been deeply involved in sharding and beacon chain-related technologies and played a key role in The Merge in 2022. Now, as the Executive Director, Wang Xiaowei is not only responsible for leading the R&D direction but also carries the important task of promoting community building. Her appointment is seen as a pivotal turning point for Ethereum to regain its technological innovation and grassroots spirit.

Tomasz Stańczak

Tomasz is well-known for his leadership at Nethermind. After more than seven years of effort, Nethermind currently ranks second in the Execution client market after Geth, with a market share of about 35%. Meanwhile, Nethermind continues to expand its business areas, launching various products and actively engaging in collaborations and research to contribute to the Ethereum ecosystem. Not only has Tomasz led Nethermind to achieve outstanding results in client development, but he is also actively exploring cutting-edge topics such as MEV and PBS. The extensive experience Tomasz has accumulated at Nethermind has injected management experience and strategic vision into the EF.

The new architecture aims to achieve the following goals:

Decentralized decision-making responsibility: Each of the two executive directors has independent full decision-making authority, which not only reduces the risk of single points of failure but also facilitates stakeholders in choosing their counterparts based on their own preferences. For example, institutions or developers in Europe can directly meet and communicate with Tomasz during his visit itinerary from April to July. At the same time, this allows stakeholders to flexibly engage with affairs in different regions and take control of the pace of cooperation.

Complementary advantages of technology and management: Wang Xiaowei's in-depth research on Ethereum's core innovations (such as the Beacon Chain, sharding technology, and ETH 2.0) forms a strong complement to Tomasz's mature experience in organizational scaling and operational management.

Aya takes over as chairman, Vitalik returns to research.

Meanwhile, former Executive Director Aya Miyagotchi has been appointed as Chairperson, focusing more on external strategic cooperation and relationship maintenance. After serving as Executive Director for seven years, Aya is now concentrating on strategic guidance and external communications, while daily operations management is fully overseen by Wang Xiaowei and Tomasz Stańczak.

According to Tomasz, one of the goals after the leadership change is to allow Vitalik to focus more on research and exploration, rather than daily coordination or crisis management. Vitalik's recent articles on RISC-V and zkVMs have opened promising research directions, and his discussions on privacy have also helped the community realign with the core values of the EF. Meanwhile, although Vitalik's proposals carry significant weight, they are more intended to spark discussion and push forward progress in challenging research areas; community reviews may significantly alter or even reject these proposals.

Community Response

After the new appointments were announced, the Ethereum community expressed congratulations and welcome to Hsiao-Wei and Tomasz.

Georgios Konstantopoulos, Paradigm's CTO, says Tomasz has reached "new heights": he is smart and experienced, has a knack for technical nuances, and has the ability to build and lead high-performing teams. There is a general belief in the community that Hsiao-Wei's in-depth understanding of the protocol will ensure that the Foundation's technical direction remains in the hands of professionals. Sassal speaks highly of the co-executive director appointment and views the leadership change as a "significant change" to propel Ethereum into its next phase. Many builders are optimistic that having a leader from research paired with a leader from the engineering and client teams will help strike a good balance at the governance level.

Some community members were surprised that Danny Ryan did not take on a major leadership role at the EF. However, on the same weekend that the EF announced the new co-executive director, Danny Ryan also announced that he was joining Etherealize as a co-founder. Even critics like Evan Van Ness later acknowledged Vitalik's decision; he believed that although he had hoped to see Danny play a larger role in the EF, the new co-executive director, with solid qualifications and experience, settled the previous leadership controversy.

Overall, the discussions within the community surrounding the transition period of Aya Miyaguchi's departure were intense, but eventually converged into a constructive consensus. Community members recognized Aya's contributions to the EF, and many key figures publicly expressed their gratitude to her; at the same time, there are high hopes for the new appointments of Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak, with expectations that the new leadership structure will address past deficiencies in communication and technical collaboration.

2. Ecological Reconstruction: The Rise of Etherealize

Previously, the community generally expected Danny Ryan to directly take over the position of Executive Director at EF. However, unexpectedly, Danny Ryan did not return to EF, but instead rejoined the Ethereum ecosystem as a co-founder of Etherealize. This choice also hints at another possibility: the formation of a new organization similar to EF, aimed at addressing the shortcomings of EF and focusing on the real implementation of Ethereum's technology and commercial potential.

As Danny Ryan said: "Instead of talking about the Ethereum vision, it is better to show how institutions can practically utilize Ethereum." Guided by this philosophy, he chose Etherealize — a platform focused on expanding and marketing the Ethereum ecosystem.

Core Mission

More than just a go-to-market tool, Etherealize is a multi-dimensional platform with a core mission in the following 4 areas:

· Institutional Access and Productization

Just like BlackRock's $1 billion on-chain U.S. debt and Franklin Templeton's mutual fund, Etherealize provides traditional financial institutions with "full escort from concept design to on-chain deployment", significantly reducing the cost of trial and error for institutions.

· Combining technology with the market

Integrate research and development (R&D) with business development (BD), rapidly iterate zero-knowledge proofs, privacy modules, and cross-Rollup bridging solutions, and instantly validate and optimize in real customer environments.

· Policy Advocacy and Regulatory Dialogue

Deeply participated in policy roundtable meetings and Senate blockchain hearings, released a series of reports titled "Plain Language Regulatory Policy Interpretation," analyzing topics such as stablecoin legislation, tokenized securities rules, and market structure reforms. The recently promoted "Regulatory Sandbox Certification Program" has attracted participation from Switzerland's FINMA and Singapore's MAS for co-construction.

· Feedback and Transparency

Etherealize data dashboard provides real-time tracking of key on-chain metrics (Total Locked Value of L2, tokenized asset scale, settlement delay) and off-chain institutional dynamics (compliance certification progress, partner growth). The monthly "Institutional Insights" report directly translates client operational pain points into protocol-level optimization needs.

Dual-track architecture

Etherealize has officially split into a dual legal entity structure to simultaneously promote market delivery and ecological governance.

The profit-making entity Etherealize Inc. (a Class C company registered in Delaware) focuses on "providing end-to-end tokenization services, Layer 2 deployment solutions, and compliance toolchains for banks and asset management institutions." Its core mission is to lower the on-chain threshold for traditional financial institutions through standardized infrastructure.

The non-profit entity Etherealize Foundation focuses on "open-source research, the development of privacy tools, and policy advocacy to bridge the gap between the real world and Ethereum," with an emphasis on maintaining Ethereum's trusted neutrality and regulatory adaptability.

This dual-track model has propelled Etherealize to achieve leapfrog development within the first three months of operation: the profit-making department successfully launched the BlackRock and Franklin Templeton on-chain mutual fund project; the non-profit department simultaneously held regulatory roundtable meetings and piloted privacy protection solutions based on zero-knowledge proofs. The synergy of "business closed-loop + ecological foundation" is accelerating the institutionalization process of Ethereum.

Etherealize Origin

The concept of Etherealize originated on July 23, 2024, when the Ethereum ETF was launched. Grant Hummer observed that although the launch of the ETF marked Wall Street's recognition of Ethereum, the actual adoption was far below expectations. This gap prompted him to collaborate with investor James Fickle to find a leader who possessed both Wall Street experience and knowledge of Ethereum, ultimately identifying Vivek Raman.

After receiving funding from Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation, the team was officially established in January 2025 and quickly expanded from pure business development to delivery. Subsequently, Etherealize realized that to leverage Wall Street, it not only needed to spread ideas but also to provide seamless access to physical tools. To this end, Vivek Raman brought in his close friend Zach Obront as a co-founder to restructure the technological foundation. Finally, Danny Ryan joined as the last co-founder in the role of Chief Strategy Officer.

2025 Strategic Blueprint

In an interview with Bankless and DeFi Dad, Danny Ryan shared Ethereal's near-term plans, and the following is the core roadmap for 2025:

Q2 Launch of institutional-level SDK, integrating custody interfaces, compliance review, and Gas fee optimization modules;

Launch of enterprise wallet pilot based on Noir zero-knowledge compiler in Q3;

In Q4, we will enter the Asia-Pacific and European markets by collaborating with Singapore's Digital Port and Switzerland's Crypto Valley to customize regulatory adaptation solutions.

When asked about the project roadmap and future challenges, Danny and Vivek elaborated on the coping strategies:

Ethereum VS Solana: Under Currents of Institutional Rivalry

The traditional financial sector has long focused on Ethereum and its Layer 2 ecosystem, which launched its technology applications earlier and has a higher market acceptance compared to Solana. According to data from RWA.xyz, Ethereum and its Layer 2 ecosystem account for more than 50% of the RWA value.

In collaboration with traditional financial institutions, due to the early launch of Ethereum, its ecosystem has established numerous cooperation cases:

Fidelity: Fidelity established Fidelity Digital Assets as early as 2018, beginning its foray into digital assets and providing Bitcoin custody services. In 2019, Tom Jessop, the head of its cryptocurrency division, expressed strong interest in Ethereum, noting that the company had invested significant resources in the Ethereum space. Launching an Ethereum spot ETF (FETH) in 2024.

JPMorgan: JPMorgan launched the open-source enterprise ledger Quorum based on Ethereum technology in 2016, supporting projects like interbank information networks and JPM Coin. In November 2022, it completed the first DeFi cross-currency transaction using the Polygon network in Project Guardian, in collaboration with the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Goldman Sachs: In 2021, Goldman Sachs acted as a joint lead underwriter when the European Investment Bank (EIB) issued 100 million euros in digital bonds and utilized Ethereum smart contracts to tokenize securities and cash.

HSBC: HSBC supports bond issuance, digital gold, and custody services through its HSBC Orion platform using distributed ledger technology, while achieving interoperability between private chains and public chains like Ethereum.

UBS: In November 2024, UBS Asset Management launched the first tokenized investment fund issued on the Ethereum network — "UBS USD Money Market Fund Token" (uMINT), converting money market fund shares into on-chain tokens. In early 2025, UBS showcased experimental results based on Ethereum Layer 2 zkSync, utilizing zero-knowledge proof technology to enable split transactions for certain gold investment products and migrating retail gold products to the zkSync "Validium" network.

In contrast, Solana has less collaboration with traditional financial institutions. At the same time, the RWA on Solana is mainly concentrated in stablecoins, with a lower proportion of non-stablecoin assets compared to Ethereum. Currently, the mainstream government bonds and other fund projects are as shown in the figure, with both the number and amount of related projects being relatively small; moreover, the types of projects are relatively singular, and large-scale commodity RWA projects, as well as areas such as private credit and private equity, have not yet been covered.

Currently, the Ethereum platform still leads in the value of RWA assets, and its Layer 2 ecosystem also supports a large number of RWA assets, far exceeding other public chain projects. Although 6 Ethereum ETFs have been approved in the market, Solana-related ETFs have not yet been approved. However, this year mainstream institutions like BlackRock's BUIDL and Franklin Templeton's BENJI have successively launched on Solana, intensifying competition. EF has also established a clear strategic layout to respond to challenges, and the establishment of Etheralize further highlights Ethereum's proactive attitude in seeking institutional cooperation.

Summary

As _gabrielShapir0 pointed out in the comments: "Etherealize can basically be seen as the second EF, a cultural and strategic divergence that makes Ethereum more social and diverse."

In fact, Etherealize marks a key political moment in Ethereum's history — during which cultural differences began to emerge. As a result, Ethereum's L0 future will place greater emphasis on social decentralization, as embodied by "client diversity." This has led to a variety of competing top-level strategic visions in the market, each focusing on different aspects, from how to promote ETH to future development directions.

Etherealize adopts a dual-layer architecture, encompassing both profit-making entities and non-profit organizations, providing greater flexibility for its operations. Each part has its own responsibilities and collaborates closely. Another major advantage lies in being technology-driven, focusing on the product itself rather than merely relying on business development. It is these qualities that make Etherealize an efficient platform focused on connecting with traditional financial institutions.

3. Recent Adjustments and Outlook of EF

Despite facing numerous challenges, Ethereum still possesses significant advantages that support its position in the cryptocurrency space — these advantages are often downplayed by its leadership, leading to negative criticisms overshadowing its core narrative. Systematically outlining these advantages can help establish an objective understanding framework of Ethereum's potential.

EF Silviculture Society: Diverse Consulting and Internal Innovation

EF has launched the Silviculture Society — an informal think tank composed of external experts aimed at providing cross-disciplinary advice and multi-faceted insights for the foundation. The think tank members come from various fields including technology, law, academia, and industry, participating on a voluntary basis for one year. They submit confidential opinions to the EF board through specialized channels, exploring a flexible and diverse internal feedback mechanism.

doubt

It may only be a superficial cultural experiment, making it difficult to improve decision-making efficiency.

The model of short-term voluntary participation may struggle to attract experts with long-term deep insights, affecting the sustainability and professionalism of the recommendations.

It is still unclear how external suggestions can truly be converted into internal decisions, and the transparency and effectiveness of the feedback mechanism need to be tested.

Financial Strategy and Budget Management

In financial management, EF has introduced a budget strategy of "spending 15% of the remaining funds annually" to ensure the long-term sustainable operation of funds. According to publicly available data, EF's fiat currency assets in the treasury decreased from 1.294 billion USD in March 2022 to 784 million USD in October 2024, while the holdings valued in ETH only dropped by about 11%. At the same time, EF's annual expenditure increased from 48 million USD in 2021 to 135 million USD in 2023, indicating a continuous increase in investment in ecological support, research and development, and personnel salaries.

doubt

EF holds a large amount of ETH. If the price of ETH continues to be sluggish, although the decline in ETH holdings may be limited, the significant shrinkage of assets when valued in USD may indicate potential risks to financial health.

The "Remaining Funds 15%" strategy is attractive but lacks clear execution details. Over the past few years, the strategy has not been effectively implemented, resulting in a continuous increase in annual expenditures.

The sharp increase in annual expenditures may reflect inefficient resource allocation or indicate ongoing issues with rising research and funding costs.

The specific expenditure details and funding usage plan have not been fully disclosed, making it difficult to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the operational status.

Despite significant investment, the actual results have yet to meet expectations, indicating a disconnect between internal management and market demand.

Stepping into DeFi and ecological innovation

EF announced an investment of 50,000 ETH to participate in DeFi projects and is entering the DeFi ecosystem through a newly established multi-signature wallet. At the same time, asset management tools such as EtherStrategy and discussions on the new governance model "Second Foundation" are emerging in the ecosystem, indicating that EF is exploring diversified innovative models to promote the continuous evolution of the ecosystem.

Questions and Doubts

Entering DeFi while staking ETH may force the EF to take a stance on sensitive issues such as future hard forks, which could in turn affect its positioning as a global neutral platform.

The market questions whether this cross-sector behavior aligns with the positioning of non-profit organizations, and whether it may lead to deviations in resource allocation and strategic focus, thus affecting the overall stability of the ecosystem.

Social Media and Marketing

In response to past criticisms of its insufficient presence on social media, EF has significantly increased its investment across major platforms. Starting from January this year, EF has reactivated multiple official accounts, promptly conveying internal reforms and strategic initiatives through a large amount of original content and dynamic reposts. At the same time, key figures such as Vitalik Buterin have enhanced the Ethereum brand image by changing their profile pictures and engaging frequently, reinforcing the "Ethereum First" concept in dialogues with traditional finance and policymakers.

doubt

Active performance on social media may only remain superficial public relations, failing to address issues of internal governance and actual results.

The actual effectiveness of market promotion and the depth of integration with traditional financial institutions and practical applications still have uncertainties.

EF Funding

EF launched two rounds of timed, thematic special funding in 2025 — the Pectra Forward-Looking Special Fund and the 2025 Academic Grant, both of which have now closed; at the same time, ESP's small grants (≤ $30,000, decision within approximately two weeks) and project grants (no upper limit on funding, in-depth collaborative review) remain open year-round.

EF Strategic Outlook

After the management adjustments were finalized, Vitalik was able to refocus on research; the EF also synchronized with the community on the main direction for the next phase: first, the overall roadmap forwarded and supplemented by Tomasz, and second, the privacy roadmap proposed by Vitalik.

In terms of the overall route, the simplified roadmap focuses on three core elements:

1. Improve data processing capabilities through Blob-based scaling;

2. Improve L1 throughput through directional protocol upgrades;

3. Improve user experience by deepening L2 interoperability and focusing on the application layer.

At the same time, Tomasz emphasized that, in addition, secondary matters include:

Always mint assets on L1

Win the real-world assets (RWA) and stablecoin market

Improve communication and clarify community and user expectations.

Significantly raise security standards under a trillion-level economy.

Promote goal-driven R&D within the foundation.

At the same time, Vitalik proposed his vision for the Ethereum privacy roadmap in the latest article "A maximally simple L1 privacy roadmap ()," covering four key forms of privacy: on-chain payment privacy, partial anonymization of in-app activities, hidden chain data reading, and network layer anonymization.

The roadmap mainly consists of:

Integrate privacy tools such as Railgun and Privacy Pools natively into mainstream wallets, with 'Hide Balance' and 'Send from Hidden Balance' enabled by default.

Promote the design of "one address per application" with the default enabled for privacy-protecting "spontaneous transactions";

Implement FOCIL and EIP-7701 to simplify zero-replay, non-relay censorship-resistant transactions;

Introduce a TEE-based RPC privacy solution in the wallet in the short term, gradually switching to a more cryptographically secure PIR in the future;

Wallets can connect to multiple RPC nodes simultaneously (optional mixed network access) and advance light client support, reducing metadata leakage;

Develop zero-knowledge proof aggregation protocol to reduce the Gas cost of privacy transactions;

Create a privacy-aware keystore wallet that allows users to seamlessly upgrade signature algorithms or verification logic between L1/L2 while maintaining confidentiality.

Four, Conclusion

The Ethereum ecosystem is undergoing a paradigm shift from within. The introduction of a dual leadership structure has achieved a decentralization of decision-making responsibilities, complemented the strengths of technology and management, and allowed Viltaik to step back from operational practices to focus on cutting-edge research and lead Ethereum. A series of changes within the EF, including the splitting of the research department, the appointment of new co-leads for research, the implementation of a pragmatism and efficiency-first approach, as well as active participation in DeFi and social media operations, are all positive changes that demonstrate a determination to seek transformation and breakthroughs in the face of intense market competition.

The emergence of Etherealize is an important milestone in strategic transformation. In terms of connecting with traditional financial institutions, EF is often not the best choice due to reasons such as organizational structure, positioning, and history, and has failed to meet the urgent market demand. Etherealize, tailored specifically for institutional clients, effectively compensates for EF's shortcomings with its clear Wall Street service positioning and flexible organizational structure, assisting EF's work without adding to its burden.

At this point, EF and Etherealize have brought organizational innovations and rejuvenation to Ethereum, enabling it to better cope with a more intense competitive environment. The next challenge is regarding the core challenges of Ethereum's future: the positioning and narrative of ETH as an asset, the integration of the Ethereum ecosystem, and enhancements in performance and experience. These fundamental strategic issues are far beyond what organizational adjustments or tactical improvements can address and will serve as a key touchstone for testing the new generation of leadership.

Despite the challenges and doubts that still exist, these changes undoubtedly open up a path for Ethereum to explore new possibilities, marking a new era that is truly future-oriented.