On the evening of February 13, $ETH Foundation co-executive director Tomasz Stańczak announced that he will step down at the end of the month. He has been in office for less than a year. Bastian Aue will temporarily take over his position, while another co-executive director Hsiao-Wei Wang will remain.
In his farewell letter, Tomasz listed several goals that have been achieved or are being promoted: speeding up the decision-making process, communicating with the younger generation, injecting vitality into the community, strengthening interactions on social media and podcasts, cooperating more openly with institutions, supporting founders, formulating financial and compensation policies, clarifying the relationship between L1 and L2, and enhancing budget and organizational transparency.
However, a particular statement sparked deep interpretation within the community. He wrote, "Some changes can only wait for 'surprises.' As time goes on, my ability to operate independently within the Foundation will decline. If by 2026, it feels like I am just passing the baton. The Foundation is currently a healthy organization that can balance long-term goals and the need for change." This implicit expression has led outsiders to speculate that there may be more to his departure.
A year ago, Tomasz's appointment was seen as a last-minute decision. At that time, $BTC had pulled back from its peak, while $ETH was performing poorly, even falling below the previous year's low. $SOL was thriving due to the Meme coin craze, while the $ETH ecosystem seemed silent, with token performance being unsatisfactory.
Community grievances erupted, with criticism directed at the $ETH Foundation, accusing it of being caught in power struggles and being disconnected from the market and frontline builders. The prevailing view at the time was that to gain the Foundation's support, one had to undertake 'politically correct' projects, but these projects were often forgotten after hype due to a lack of practical scenarios. Every day on social media, 'insiders' listed various issues with the Foundation.
On March 1, 2025, the $ETH Foundation announced the appointment of Hsiao-Wei Wang and Tomasz Stańczak as co-executive directors, with former executive director Aya Miyaguchi retreating to the background while remaining on the board. Hsiao-Wei has been a core researcher for seven years and is a key contributor to the beacon chain. Tomasz is the development lead for the execution client Nethermind.
Over the past year, the changes can be summed up in two points: internal efficiency and external communication. The two optimized internal processes, significantly speeding up decision-making and addressing the previously criticized slow response and bureaucratic issues. The Foundation began handling community feedback more actively and reduced its staff by 19 to streamline its structure.
The most intuitive feeling is that on-chain transaction costs have rapidly decreased, even falling below some L2s. While this is partly due to reduced on-chain activity, the modifications of fundamental parameters, such as Blob expansion and Gas Limit adjustments, which previously required repeated discussions, were rapidly implemented within a year.
Externally, the Foundation's public communication has significantly increased, with Tomasz frequently participating in podcasts, community Q&A, and social media interactions. Vitalik specifically mentioned that he brought 'fresh energy,' making the Foundation more sensitive to the external world. Additionally, communication with developers, governments, and institutions is also strengthening, promoting $ETH towards practical fields while supporting Web3 projects. The recent re-emphasis on the 'privacy' narrative is a preparation for meeting practical application scenarios.
Having left in less than a year, coupled with the hints in his farewell letter, the real reason for Tomasz's resignation remains a mystery. Core contributor to the $ETH consensus layer, GregTheGreek, revealed that a year ago when talking with Tomasz, the latter mentioned that his key performance indicator might be 'being fired in the first year.'
GregTheGreek provided two speculations: first, that the internal power struggle within $ETH remains intense, with Foundation Chair Aya Miyaguchi still holding real power, and the changes promoted by Tomasz did not reach the 'source', leading to the exclusion of the existing interest groups. Second, Tomasz has a strong background in Nethermind, Flashbots, and venture capital, which presents clear conflicts of interest. Although disclosures have been made, dissatisfaction still arises.
GregTheGreek stated that although he wants to believe that Tomasz prefers technology over office management, leaving in less than a year is likely due to being pushed out. He commented, "You can change an organization in a year, but you can't change its culture in such a short time."
Speculation arises from the sense of 'too short a term' leading to the feeling of 'not having finished the probation period.' Given that Tomasz himself emphasized a preference for personal involvement in projects, and that $ETH co-founders Vitalik and Joseph Lubin did not disclose more information, it cannot be determined if it is definitely related to power struggles. However, from Tomasz's words, a hint of unspoken meaning can still be perceived.
This year, we have seen changes in $ETH and witnessed Vitalik daring to contradict his previous misjudgment about L2. However, if $ETH truly wants a complete turnaround, it might consider bringing in an experienced professional manager from outside the ecosystem—someone without conflicts of interest, unaffected by internal complexities, and a truly independent manager.
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