David Edwards
A significant internal restructuring has been disclosed by the Ethereum Foundation (EF), which has renamed its key development team from the Protocol Research & Development (PR&D) team to just “Protocol.” This modification is part of a larger strategic move to further three key goals: improving the overall user experience (UX), growing blobspace to accommodate rollups, and scaling Ethereum’s basic layer (Layer 1).
Staff reductions are part of the move, which was announced on June 2; however, the Foundation did not reveal the number of affected personnel. It underlined that leaving members are welcome to continue participating in the Ethereum ecosystem and are qualified for new positions in the larger community.
The Protocol team’s key leadership positions have been reorganized to better reflect its honed focus:
- Layer 1 Scaling: Tim Beiko and Ansgar Dietrichs
- Layer 2 Scaling and Blobspace: Francesco D’Amato and Alex Stokes
- User Experience: Josh Rudolf and Barnabé Monnot
- Strategic Advisor: Dankrad Feist
In light of the growing need for scalable and approachable blockchain solutions, the Foundation explained that the reorganization was an essential step in navigating the challenging process of developing the Ethereum protocol.
This change in organization is a component of a larger realignment that started earlier this year. Vitalik Buterin, a co-founder of Ethereum, revealed in January that the EF’s governance structure would be changing to better involve developers and provide more technical leadership. Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak were appointed as co-executive directors in April after the EF legally separated its board and executive duties. Under this arrangement, the executive team oversees day-to-day operations, while the board, which includes Buterin, concentrates on long-term planning.
These continuous changes are intended to improve accountability, expedite decision-making, and put Ethereum in a better position to meet the changing needs of the blockchain industry. In order to speed technical innovation while upholding its core principles, the EF plans to consolidate development efforts under the new Protocol team.
