Hsiao-Wei Wang has stepped down as co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, adding to a string of senior departures at the organization in 2026.
Ethereum News
Hsiao-Wei Wang has stepped down as co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation (EF), effective June 18. She announced the decision in a post on X, saying a recent sabbatical gave her space to reconsider her priorities and what she wants to build next.
Source: Hsiao-Wei
Wang said she has not yet decided what comes next but expects to spend more time closer to home. "Ethereum has always been bigger than any one role, any one organization, or any one moment," she wrote in her statement.
A Challenging Role at a Challenging Time
Wang is the second co-executive director to leave the EF this year. Tomasz Stanczak stepped down earlier in 2026 after helping steer a leadership transition at the Switzerland-based nonprofit. During Wang's sabbatical, EF board member Bastian Aue took on a larger interim role guiding the organization.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin responded to the news on X, describing Wang's position as "perhaps the most challenging in the Ethereum Foundation" at one of the most difficult periods for the network. He said she handled the role "skillfully and gracefully" and credited her with more than a decade of contributions to Ethereum research and community building, including building a strong Ethereum community in Taipei, Taiwan.
Source: Vitalik Buterin
The EF has seen an estimated 19 departures so far in 2026. At least eight senior figures have left over the past five months, drawing scrutiny from the broader Ethereum community over the foundation's governance, priorities, and long-term strategic direction.
Ethereum's Decentralization Mandate Remains Unchanged
The departures come as the EF faces questions about its role within the ecosystem. In March, the foundation reaffirmed its mandate, placing greater emphasis on decentralization. It stated that its goal is for Ethereum to pass what it called the "walkaway test," meaning the protocol would continue to function and evolve even if the EF and its core developers disappeared entirely.
Read More: Ethereum Foundation Launches ‘Clear Signing’ Standard To End Blind Transaction Risk
Buterin has also pushed back against critics who argue the EF should take a more active role in promoting the network. In May, he said the foundation is "not the center of Ethereum" but rather "one node, with a defined purpose, alongside other nodes."
Wang echoed a similar sentiment in her farewell statement. She wrote that Ethereum's strength comes from those who keep building permissionless infrastructure and that what the community has built "was handed to us by those who came before."
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